A Nightmare on Elm Street 6: The Dream Hero
by antihero276
Summary: The third and final part of the Dream Master Trilogy that was began with The Dream Master and The Dream Child, in place of Freddy's Dead. A Nightmare On Elm Street/Evil Dead Crossover. Alice/Ash.
1. Prologue: The Nightmare Master

**This story is specially dedicated to actress Lisa Wilcox, and actors Bruce Campbell and Robert Englund. Directors Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Renny Harlin and Stephen Hopkins. And the various writers and other actors of each of their respective relevant movies. Thank you for your hard work, the memories, and invigorating my imagination. The Nightmare On Elm Street and Evil Dead Wikis were also invaluable. Thanks to those who maintain them.**

**This story doubles as both a Nightmare On Elm Street/Evil Dead crossover, as well as an attempt at a more definitive Nightmare On Elm Street 6, at least from my perspective. Not taking anything away from Freddy's Dead, there were great concepts I borrow from it for this story, but it could have been so much stronger, and should have closed out the Dream Master's and Freddy's story properly. The end of the Dream Master trilogy that started with Alice. Whether I succeeded in telling this untold final part or not is up to the reader, but I think I did. I hope so, at least. I had a great deal of fun writing this story. Alice Johnson, Ash Williams and Freddy Krueger are amazing characters, and it was so much fun to get inside their varying twisted heads. And come up with situations for them.**

**As I post this first chapter I have the story completed and mostly edited. I will likely come back to this story and edit/update it some more even more as I post the chapters. I just had so much fun in this world. It fit together perfectly in my mind, and takes pieces from the various movies, comics and abandoned scripts, along with my own stuff. **

**This is more of a Nightmare On Elm Street Story than an Evil Dead one, my continuation of The Dream Child. The ball really gets rolling with Alice. But Ash brings with him to a place like Springwood all his Ashness and Evil Dead baggage, and it worked well for me. I needed an outsider, but one who has lived a life as messed up as his and who could adapt. Both for the immense fun of writing him and his connection and many similarities to Alice that I realized. They bring it out of each other naturally for me, benefit one another for the story, and it's not always like that with characters. It was so vivid at times I had difficulty sleeping for all the ideas I had. The first time that ever happened to me.**

**Without further ado, this is my little contribution to the 80's horror/slasher/dark humor genre I have always loved.**

* * *

**_"To die, to sleep – to sleep – perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause."_**

_**-Hamlet**_

* * *

Pain. Pain and rage.

The only things I have left that are strong. Powerful. And it was not enough to make a difference. It was all my whore mother left me with... after tearing myself free from her festering womb once more. I had blindly fled her and her burning white light... weakened, panicked... down into the darkest depths of the Dream World I could find in such a condition... where I had slumbered. Hidden from her. Regrown... but not in power. Only enough to walk... to move... and to feel ancient pain whenever I did. I don't know if it was years that had passed... surely... for time was different here. Time was different, depending on my strength. The Dream Demons... they had gone quiet long ago, with most of my powers... along with the heat and fire of my home... the furnace... stripped of my children. Their fresh souls. I have been left in cold darkness in which to rot.

All of it was because of _her_... Alice... Master of Wonderland. Pretty little Alice... and her bastard son that might have been mine... Jacob... the Dream Child. How much better he would have been as a Nightmare Child. Something born of the darkness... becoming my body and blood, in a way even Jesse could never have been. All I have left is a weak consciousness and decrepit form... down here in the lowest part of my boiler room. Clothes that dangle from my frame. My glove barely fits anymore... and hurts to wear... it is waiting as much as I am. Waiting... to grow stronger. Waiting for a chance. Waiting... for them to arrive, once more. The Dream Police... they called themselves. A gang of the little bastards and hoodlums of Springwood... nothing more.

They were a different breed from the Elm Street children... more virulent... more like me. Far less innocent. It gave them a strength... a resilience to me, in this weakened form. And they had developed their dream powers. Some nights they made a game of it... coming down to the boiler room to insult and abuse me. Abuse their powers. I could not entirely fault them for that... it was admirable, their callousness. I would have done the same, in their positions. These Dream Police are a far less pure breed than those I feasted on before. But perhaps more efficient. If I were strong enough to eat their souls... I doubt I would grow much stronger. A second rate meal.

I never know when they are going to break into my home... have their little fun... I just know it is inevitable. When they tire of their peaceful dreams, they crave the violence of nightmares... the thrill... as I have. Perhaps they are more my children than the Elm Street bastards of the past... but I do not favor them. Looking at myself in that reflection. The last reflection I peered into had nearly destroyed me. Freed my children. The mirror _she_ had risen. Were it so that I could travel back then... kill her, instead of toying with her. But the toying was the fun. The killing only the cherry on top. Perhaps that was my greatest weakness. The pursuit of pleasure.

"**Krueger! This is the Dream Police! Remain where you are old man! We're coming down! And turn off that shitty music!"**

I can hear their boots echoing on the distant stairs and storming through my house above... I obey the booming voice echoing throughout the inert boiler room. I remain on my work bench, before the cold, dark oven. I turn off the gramophone with a shaking hand, and the soothing voices of the _Pied Pipers_ died away. One of my few remaining creature comforts left to me. I don't bother trying to hide or run. I used to, but it never works. No more than trying to fight them had... my blades simply passing right through them... without the geyser of crimson or organs I desire. Need. They were not afraid.

No matter where I travel across the dreamscape... the furthest corners. They always find me. Always have their due. And if not the Dream Police, the other individual thrill seeking teenagers do it. Most of Springwood... some beyond. Some bringing their pretty little girlfriends with them to watch. To impress them. None of them feared me any longer... I had existed like this too long to be. For any of them to really remember who I was. What I once was. Better to get it over with sooner than later... so I can be alone again to dwell upon my failures. To be brought so low that these maggots, barely fit to serve me as slaves, should be stronger than me.

Pathetic.

Teenagers... who enjoy dressing up and being cruel. Then again, I too was young... once. I don't believe Alice has a hand in these... Dream Police. Or any of the others. No... I wish she did, wish she would fall to my level. But she was out of school... growing older. Has responsibilities. A dimming imagination. And she was never this purposefully cruel. No matter what I did to her. Her brother, friends and bastard's father's screams in my memory are another of the lingering creature comforts I savor. It never lost it's potency, even after their souls escaped me. I remain where I am, and I wait... I sit and I wait for the inevitable... so I can sit and wait for it to happen again.

Their boots descend down the stairs, one after another. Although they are all clad in militaristic, cybernetic Riot Police body armor... extenuated by their imaginations to different degrees, taller and bigger than these teenagers were in life, faces obscured behind helmets... I recognized them all. Save one. One trailing behind the others... with something I had not seen since first I met them. Reluctance. No mockery within him. Distaste... but not for me. It gave me pause... I noted it, as their leader strode forward... the others forming up behind him, brandishing their batons. He pointed the end of his baton at me... and his booming voice issued from behind the helmet again.

"**Krueger. Hope you enjoyed your break, old man. We thought we'd make this beating more eventful, special... I brought my little brother along with us. Showed him the Dream World... and will be inducting him."**

"_Of course, William. A new member of the Dream Police. Another baton. Better show him how it works, son. Show him the ropes. Careful not to trip in them."_

"**Watch your tongue, Krueger... or we'll escort you to the Pit. Wait for it to open for someone... and then make pushing you in his initiation."**

I held my tongue, at those two words. He and the others had threatened it numerous times... it should have lost it's effectiveness... but it hadn't. The only thing left I feared... even in this hell. Terrible as it was, the Pit was truly the end... where all dreams and nightmares went to die. I did not believe the Dream Demons would survive it... especially as weak as they now were. As weak as I was. Here... there was a chance. There? I could not fathom. Did not want to. There were depths in this place even I had not yet trodden upon. For all my exploration. I knew far more of these worlds than them... yet these children had uncovered some of my secrets, in their time here... some of the doorways. Touching my things with their filthy, clutching hands. Matters Nancy, Lisa, Kristen or even Alice had never dreamed of. How far away from my world she has grown, little Alice. How neglectful in her duties. Their leader laughed at me, thoroughly pleased with himself... relishing his power here.

"**There now. That's better."**

Looking back to his friends... here his subordinates, he gave a single nod. There was a bustling rush as the swarm of them descended upon me. As they had so often before, they knocked me off the work bench and to the floor. My hat fell off with me as I landed against the concrete. The boiler room was silent as a tomb, save their exertions... I gritted my teeth and didn't give them the pained noises they wanted. I felt every swing of the baton and every kick, as in unison all of them tried to get a piece of me.

All... save the little brother. Now and again there was a gap in the Dream Police... and there he stood, off to the side, weakly holding his baton... standing stock still. Shocked. I didn't miss that, even as the pain bit through me, and the rage coursed like the blood all over my face and the floor. I held my tongue, did not call the curses and threats on them that I might have. There was an angle here... an opportunity... something I might use. Their leader broke off while the others continued, stepping back over to his little brother and pointing the baton at him, and back to me.

"**Your turn, Georgie. Go on. Let him have it. He loves it."**

"**Bill... I don't think we should be...-**

"**What? Are you too much of a pussy to join the Dream Police? Wasn't this what you wanted? In on the club?"**

One after another the others broke off from kicking and hitting me, breathing deeper. Not all at once... and even after they broke off, they aimed a kick at me here and there, laughing among themselves. Already growing bored. That was the one mercy, weakness, of the teenagers... short attention spans. One of them turned to their leader, his own booming voice echoing through the vast boiler room.

"**Bill, I've had enough for one night, I could be getting laid by supermodels right now. For the rest of it. Not spending it down here with this has been old geezer. You know what I'm saying?"**

"**Here here."**, Agreed another of them, and there were laughs and sounds of assent among some others, murmurs. **"Let this old bastard keep rotting down here awhile. I'm going back to my own dreams."**

"**You guys go right ahead. See you in classes tomorrow, we'll swap stories."**, Their leader agreed after a long pause, looking among them... before casting another look back at his brother. **"Georgie, you stay put. I'm not done with you."**

All around the boiler room, one after another the Dream Police began to vanish into thin air. Hopping back down the dreamscape to their own sections of it. Their own dreams. Those of hormonal teenagers. Sex and violence... it never failed. Only two of them remained... and one of them snapped his fingers. The moment he had, the armor and appearance of the Dream Police of the other had vanished... in his place stood a boy in pajamas... with dark hair and wide blue eyes... no more than ten years old. The power and illusion his older brother had granted him of strength and age, height, taken back from him.

"**There. You don't deserve that uniform, crybaby. Probably going to wake up with pissed sheets and jammies. You wanted to be one of us so bad, and don't have what it takes. Go back to whatever fairy dream you were having before. Or stay here with this old faggot. I could care less. You blew it, made me look bad in front of my friends."**

Before George could say anything to his elder brother, he had turned back to me. Moving over closer, he slammed his boot into my guts and twisted, keeping it pressed down. The pain slammed through my entire body... I saw red... haziness, with his hulking, armored frame. But I heard his mocking voice through it.

"**Krueger. I'll be back for you tomorrow night. Just you and me. And I won't be as nice as I was tonight. I have a few ideas in mind, just for you."**

"_I'll be here."_

With another spiteful twist, William removed his boot from my stomach and vanished on the spot... as his friends had done. Leaving only myself... and Georgie. I studied him for a long time... expecting him to run away... to vanish at any moment. For whatever reason... he did not. He remained where he was... hesitant, but there. I saw my chance. I was too weak to move, then... but I could move my mouth. My mind was still my own. It had saved me as often as my powers. In life it had been all I had possessed... my mind and my will. I heard my own haggard, defeated voice emerging from my lips, then.

"_I know my appearance unsettles you. But appearances can be deceiving. Especially in this land, Georgie. Your brother seems another teenager, in your world. In this one... he can be what he wishes. Strong. Big. Cruel, even. Him and his friends."_

"Who... are you really? Bill didn't say. Just your name. He didn't explain much about this... Dream World, either. Just a bit of how to navigate it."

"_No. I imagine he wouldn't. I am but a joke to him and his friends. What I am is someone who has been here for a long time. Someone who ruled the realm of dreams, once upon a time. Before those like your brother came along. I am the Dream Master. The guardian of this realm. Guardian of the positive dream gate."_

"I've heard that name... some of Bill's friends have mentioned it. Argued about him. Some of them think he was a woman, who went to our school. Nobody seems quite sure. Bill likes to say that he's the new Dream Master."

"_How little they know. Will you help an old man up to his work bench before you depart, Georgie?"_, I implored the boy... nearly choking on my words. The revulsion of my begging to this child. Even knowing it was acting, it took all I had to do it. I had no other options left. If I failed this... it may never come again. I forced my withered, burnt face to smile at him. _"It will take me quite awhile to regain the strength to do it myself." _

The boy hesitated again, looking between me, and the work bench. At last, he took the bait, moving forward and wrapping an arm around me. Helping me up to my feet gradually. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders as well for support, trying to ignore each stab that each step was to me. The pain of this foolish child being so close was even worse. Reaching the workbench, I sat back down on it. The boy was stupidly kind enough to pick up my hat off the floor as well, handing it to me. Putting it slowly back on my head, I forced myself to thank him. His eyes surveyed the work bench as he stood over it, and over me.

"What's with all this metal work? The gloves and tools?"

"_In life I was a groundskeeper and janitor."_, I lied, gesturing a skeletal hand down over my handiwork. Smiling proudly. _"I made gloves and tools like these to maintain the shrubs neatly. And I worked often in boiler rooms... that is why I am still in one now. In this world, I am free to continue my hobbies. Or I was... until I grew feeble. There isn't much left for me in this dream world. It has become nothing but nightmares, for me. All I can do is gaze on who and what I once was. Contemplate my naval."_

"Why do they pick on you? They call you all kinds of foul names... and the way they hit you...-

"_Teenagers are cruel like that, I'm afraid. Bullies. Part of their nature. There's no reason to it, just instinct. Wait until you reach high school. Hope that you never have to grow up, Georgie. Believe me."_

Georgie laughed at that and smiled back at me for the first time, and I felt my own deepening. There was an understanding there... a hook. An older, intelligent male figure was showing him attention he craved... attention he almost certainly didn't get at home. It was too easy. Far too easy. The neglect of parents and siblings, apathy, were as much my weapons as any other. Better in certain ways. I pressed forward my slight advantage.

"_Georgie, before you wake up or go to your own better dreams... your safe place... you have been kind to a babbling old man. I want to repay you. I have one more thing I'd like to share. A... secret, between you and me. It's only fair I tell you... you are the first child in this Dream World to show me such generosity. Altruism."_

"What is it, Mr Krueger?"

"_A little closer... one never knows who might be listening. I don't want your brother hearing this."_

I winked at him, and for a split second, I was certain the boy would flee. That I had overstepped myself, too much too soon. That he would realize what I was. That I had missed my window of opportunity, for however many more years to come. To my silent amazement, the idiotic boy remained in the boiler room. More than that, the boy leaned over the work bench, with a bit of trepidation... enough of it to taste. His curiosity and excitement overriding it though. To hear something his elder brother did not know... to have one up on him. Once he was close enough, I leaned in as well. Murmuring just loudly enough for him alone to know. To take with him inside me.

"_Your brother and his friends are absolutely right about me."_

An instant of fear swelled inside him, stronger than before... and it was all I needed. I pounced. Before he is able to fully digest my words and flee, I slammed the glove I had not been wearing seconds before into his stomach with all I had left in me. I half expected to fail... for the blades to pass through him, like every other attempt. To my pleasure, my relief... his eyes gaped, dumb founded... stupid looking... and he promptly gurgled and spat blood all over my face in shock. I wrapped my other arm about him, pulling him in close. As I had done to another... when I had been stronger. A stronger child of mine, still unable to resist me. I tasted his fear all the more, potent and growing... spreading through the air around me. Leaning into the boy's ear I cooed him reassurance.

"_Shhh. It's ok, Georgie. You'll never be alone again. We'll be closer than brothers."_

Continuing to twist the blades... finally, when his struggles began to weaken, I let him go. He fell to the floor where I had, twitching and convulsing... and I remained seated... watching it all. Felt my face breaking out into a smile, his warm blood trickling down it, tasting it... as it happened once more. As he died, his body and soul were separated... the former dissipated and returned to the real world... to his bed... while the latter remained before me, it's vibrant light slamming into my chest.

All at once, that light began to spread... return to me... the sensation I had nearly forgotten. I felt an instant rejuvenation... life coursing through my body... the life of another, now mine. All mine. I was young again. The soul of a fresh, innocent child... the very best quality. The oven turned on, flames flickering alight within... and the steam pipes and lights around the boiler room began to activate. Come to life. Not as boiling hot as I would have liked... but a resurrection all the same. Familiarity. My power growing within the realm.

I rose to my feet off the bench... and did not feel the ache that I had from each movement. The pain of the beating was already receding... my form mending it's self. I felt Georgie's permanent screams emanating within me... writhing, and I took pleasure in them. Reassurance. Until they came to me. Their voices drowning out even George's tormented, fresh soul. They returned to me from within. Those who had granted me my power. The three... who spoke as one, within me.

"_**Freddy. At last you provide your end of our pact, once more. You nourish us. We gladly return our side of it as well."**_

"_I have endured in your silence. In shadow and cold. Insult and injury. I have bided my time. I am ready. I will go to the whore... tear her heart from her chest... her little bastard... her friend and her father... before I send them all screaming to you."_

"_**You are not strong enough to face the Dream Master... not yet. Look at what she did to you before... each time. Fortunately, her eyes are affixed elsewhere... in her own world... in her own dreams. You must continue to quickly reclaim our domain... from the rowdy children infesting it, before she notices. Regrow your strength. Regrow your legend. Once the child is found, it will spread among the others. Each corpse will continue to grow it... fear and doubt in their powers. Their hold on you."**_

"And when I have done this?"

"_**You will require the Dream Hero."**_

"_The Dream Hero? Another one?"_

"_**Hers... unless you prevent it. Different from the other dreamers you have faced. Capable in the real world... currently weak in the Dream World. In his world he has faced beings of the same fires that spawned us. Creatures of darkness. For all his ability fighting the Dark Ones and their servants... he is a fool... with a colossal ego and no friends to stand beside him. No experience in the Dream World. Limited imagination. He will come to you. To Springwood. When he does, he will be yours for the taking. Once you have taken him... possessed him... you will be strong enough to kill the Dream Master and Dream Child where they are most vulnerable. The world of the awoken. Should you fail..."**_

"_They will form a trinity to rival your own."_

"_**Yes. You must not allow this to come to pass. Take the Dream Hero... then claim the Dream Master and Dream Child. Once you have taken their souls... nothing can stop you. You can kill every child in Springwood. More than that, the Dream Hero is not of Springwood... so you will be able to venture out into the rest of the world. Through him you may find the Necronomicon Ex Mortis... link us to the Dark Ones... and create a Nightmare World. Ours to rule. Ours to remake in our image."**_

I considered each of their words, feeling them even as I listened to them. It was a scale I had often dreamed of... but bound by my limitations, had thought precisely that... a dream. To exist beyond Springwood. To rend and tear my way through an entire greater world of dreamers. To hear their shrieks... to regain my legend, and create a new one. Yes. There was no hesitation... since I had been given my powers... I had been escalating to this point. Building and growing. The scope of it made me laugh once more, echoing through the boiler room amid all the other lovely sounds that had returned.

"_Every town has an Elm Street. Every child will know my name... before I take them. I will break their parents minds... and leave them behind to live... longer than they wish to."_

"_**Yesssss, Freddy. Go forth with our blessing... and anticipation. You will not be alone against the Dream Master this time. It is time we took a more direct hand in this matter."**_

The three quieted once more within... but I felt them. They were with me again. Their power. My power. At least, a portion of it. Enough of it to grow. The Dream Core returning to life. It was a start. Turning my thoughts to the faces and names of each of the little parasitic bastards who had thought me defeated... infested my world... I smiled. And I knew just where to begin.


	2. The Dream Hero I

"Ashley, I hope you understand the immense responsibility and trust I am granting you here."

Ashley Joanna Williams looked back across the desk at his boss and manager, the head of S-Mart... Mr Smart himself. He forced a wide grin at the heavyset man, and sat more upright, straightening out his tie. The boss peered back at him very seriously, as though x-raying his employee. Ash kept his tone carefully professional, assertive, and understanding. He had practiced it well on his gradual rise through the ranks.

"I do, Mr Smart. Thank you. I won't let you down, sir."

"I should hope not. It's not every day I let even a model employee like yourself to represent me and Michigan at the S-Mart Annual Conference. I would have gone myself, but with my family vacation plans it just wasn't an option."

"I understand, sir."

"You've proven yourself a true member of the S-Mart family, Ashley. Smart. Dedicated. Ambitious. I would not give you this assignment if I doubted your loyalty or capability in the matter. Ted wasn't exactly my next choice."

"You're too kind, sir."

"Keep this up and you might have management prospects in your future. Ullman will be expecting to meet you at his office when you get to Springwood, and the conference will be on Sunday. Ullman will have read up on your record, so be warned. If he tries to steal you away from this branch of the company...-

"Don't worry Mr Smart, better weather or not, suburb paradise or not, it'd take a hell of a lot to get me to transfer to Springwood. I'll just be passing through, enjoying the sights.", Ash spoke up casually with a breezy wave of his gloved hand. "Not a far drive to Ohio anyways. I could use the fresh air. Sounds like vacation time of my own. Mostly work though, of course, sir."

"That's my boy. Always seize the opportunity when it presents it's self. I just wish I could be there to hear you deliver your speech myself.", Mr Smart answered at last, with a satisfied smile, rising from behind his desk. Ash did the same, rising from his chair as the boss extended his left hand. "That will be all. I'm sure the rest of the staff will want to speak with you before you go, and you'll want to clear out early. See you next Monday. And best of luck in Springwood."

"I'll do my best, sir. No screw ups. You can count on that."

Ash took Mr Smart's hand carefully, restraining the great strength in the hidden mechanical joints beneath the thick glove, grinning back broadly at the man. When they finished shaking, Ash turned and strolled casually for the door. Closing it behind him, his false grin vanished, replaced by smug satisfaction. About goddamn time. Moving away from the office, he moved through the all too familiar S-Mart with long legged strides. Looking among the aisles at all the customers and other employees. Each step was a relief, to be departing. It had been a long week, a little R&R was just what the doctor ordered. He spotted Ted at the head of aisle 8, going over his inventory papers. Ash passed down the aisle and stopped in front of him, slapping him on the back.

"Ted? I'm off, buddy. You're covering my shifts while I'm gone. Try not to let anyone burn the place down. Guns and ammunition are on aisle 6."

"Try not to burn down Springwood, hotshot. Remember, random old women aren't the same as backflipping witches, despite appearances."

"Who? Me? I'll be too busy scoring with the fine Ohio chicks, not bothering with the old ladies. I'll take you with me next time. Scout's honor."

"Here's me holding my breath. I'll never get out of this dump."

"That's the spirit."

Ash laughed and finger gunned the younger man, who rolled his bespectacled, bored eyes. Continuing on, he passed Jenny in her own checkout counter as she was dealing with a long lineup of early morning sorry looking customers. He didn't envy her upcoming day. Coming up behind her he patted her on the bottom with his gloved hand appreciatively. The redhead laughed at his familiar touch, setting her own hand on his shoulder.

"Jenny, looking good there honey. You make it look easy. I'm headed out. Wish I could stick around a bit longer. Help you close up, you know what I mean?"

"Take me with you, Ashley?", She smiled, blue eyes blinking, and simpered sadly, tilting her head towards the customers. "Help get a girl off the hook just this once?"

"No can do this time, baby. Sorry. You be a good girl while I'm gone and I might bring you something back."

"Something shiny? That fits around the finger?"

"No promises, sugar. You love my free wheeling independence and tom foolery. Why ruin a good thing?"

Ash gave her a kiss on the cheek, another pat and continued on. He said the rest of his farewells to the rest of the staff along the way to the locker room, in the locker room as he changed, and departing it on the way to the doors. Strolling out the front doors and into the parking lot. Already he felt the deep sense of relief of leaving it all behind. S-Mart. The city. The stress. The Delta was waiting for him out front, his bags and essentials packed in the back and trunk, all preparations made. The Delta had a full tank of gas, his trailer was being taken good care of by Vivian, and he was free and clear for a weekend he would have been working otherwise. Ash unlocked the door and lowered himself inside, closing the door and firing his pride and joy up.

She was purring like a kitten this morning... his tune ups must have done the job after all. Looking back to the S-Mart, he laughed to himself, hit her into reverse, swerving out of the parking lot in a squealing of tires, roaring out on to the road. Heading towards the interstate highway. He had a roughly three and a half hour drive ahead of himself from Detroit to Springwood... no sense he shouldn't have some fun along the way. He flicked on the radio and started up his customized cassette tapes, cranking it up high and turning on to the highway. Loudly singing along with the tunes. Life was already looking up.

* * *

_**Welcome to**_

**SPRINGWOOD**

_**Population 15, 265+**_

_**A Nice Place **_

_**to Live**_

They got the sign right, at least. Ash made good time on his way to Springwood, reaching it's bright outskirts by the early afternoon. There wasn't much in the way of traffic at least... passing by the welcome sign of the town, it wasn't much longer before the suburb paradise came in view. It looked right out of a postcard or a tv show. A slice of heaven. Sunny Americana. Nothing like home. Detroit was a shithole by comparison. But then again, it was still one compared to any bombed out third world nation.

He had rolled down the window to breath in the fresh air along the way... a godsend from what he was used to smelling. Ash's stomach rumbled then not for the first time since the trip had started. He hadn't had time to scarf down much back in Detroit... he was tempted to find a place to stop and eat along the way, and was only more tempted now the closer he drew to downtown. He forced himself to concentrate... it would have to wait until he had met Ullman at least. He was expected.

Once he got Ullman out of the way, the rest of the weekend until Sunday evening was all his to do as he wished. To do _who_ he wished. Whichever lucky Ohio babe that proved to be. Following the directions Mr Smart had provided, it wasn't long before he spotted the Springwood S-Mart, downtown. A spitting image of of his own S-Mart... no surprise there. Although much more civilized activity. It took him awhile to find a parking spot... several times he tried some punk kid or old woman saw fit to take it first. Locking up the Delta he strolled across the pavement towards the doors. Finding an employee he dropped his name, and that he had an appointment. He was led to the offices of the building, where a number of potential applicants and other appointments were waiting their turn.

Instead of sitting down he strolled straight up to the secretary... a cute blonde girl in a dress, and leaned over the desk, dropping his name and working his charms. He saw her interest, her smiles... but before he could get her number or give his, he was buzzed through. Adjusting his tie, he went for the door, opening it and stepping into an office little different from Mr Smart's. Hopefully it would prove more productive. A thinner man sat behind the desk with grey hair and a dark suit, going over some papers. Looking up to the doorway when it opened, a deep smile crossed the manager's face, and he lowered his documents. Remaining seated as he extended out a hand over his desk.

"Mr Williams! Good to see you, lad, come right in, come right in! I hope the drive over went alright."

"Three and a half hours of fresh air on the highway? Just what I needed. Pleasure's mine, Mr Ullman.", Ash replied at once, returning the man's grin and shaking his offered hand. Taking a seat when the manager gestured to the seat in front of the desk. Ash settled down in it, relaxing, drawing a low breath. "Good to finally meet you. Mr Smart talks about you often."

"I thought my ears were burning. That old son of a gun. He would, wouldn't he? Nothing too unflattering, I should hope?"

"Nothing but compliments.", Ash lied between his teeth, laughing along with Ullman. Time and again he had to listen to Mr Smart using colorful language about Ullman. "He speaks very highly of you."

"Of course he does... Ohio's profits are through the roof. Even better than Michigan. We're doing good business for him, here. Meanwhile I just met with Reginald from Crystal Lake. Profits are down there... and let's not even get started with our Haddonfield Branch. It'll be good to find out about how Michigan has been fairing lately, at the conference. I can't wait to hear your speech"

"Can't wait to give it to you, sir.", Ash lied smoothly again. He hated giving public speeches he couldn't shout at people. Especially frightened villagers. The memory made him smile more genuinely. "I have it all written up and ready to go."

"Ashley I'll come straight to the point for why I wanted to meet you ahead of the conference. Mr Smart probably already warned you, but here it is. Springwood's S-Mart is prepared to invest in your talents, if you come play ball for us. I want you to come work for me directly. You have management potential in you, son. We would start you at better wages than Mr Smart is offering in Michigan, more vacation time and pay as well, and it will only increase with your hard work. No more running around on menial errands. You'd get an office of your own, and employees under your supervision."

Ash considered the man's offer for a time... pictured himself in an office... he didn't like the idea. But he did like the idea of more money. Mr Smart wasn't so big on the raises, even as he rose in the ranks. He'd been jumping through hoops for years... when would it finally start paying off? Was this it? Or would it cost him something bigger down the line?

"That's a very generous offer, sir. " Ash started at last, finding his words. Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh... you... understand if I need some time to consider, though?"

"Of course, of course. Take the rest of the weekend here in Springwood to take in the sights and think it over. A tour will do you some good. I'll need your answer after the conference, of course. It's a limited time offer. Opportunities like this often come only once in a lifetime."

Ash's stomach answered for him, with another low, audible rumble. Giving him an out that he seized on to at once. Thank God for small favors.

"I didn't get much to eat for breakfast before the drive, sir. Is there somewhere I can get some food around here? I don't know any of the local spots."

"The Crave Inn sounds like just the place for you. All day and night breakfast. Not far from here. Just off Shaye Boulevard, near Springwood High. You can't miss it."

"Good name, accurate about now. Thank you, sir. I'll think long and hard about your offer over my meal."

"You do that.", Ullman replied mildly, smile deepening. He rose up from behind his desk, and Ash took that as his cue, rising as well. Fortunately shaking with his left. A rarity. "Hate to rush you out so soon, but I got other meetings coming in soon. And you have a town to explore. A decision to make. I'll see you on Sunday morning. Enjoy your stay in Springwood."

With a final firm handshake, Ullman sat back down behind his desk, and Ash inclined his head, turning and heading for the door. Closing it behind him. He considered lingering behind to finish getting the secretary's phone number out of her, or leaving his card to make her a lucky lady, but his stomach growled again. No sense going prowling on an empty stomach. Maybe he'd see her at the conference. And after. Instead he winked teasingly at her on his way by the desk and made for the door. He left the S-Mart behind and headed back out to the sun lit street to the Delta, climbing inside. First thing was first, he could wear some decent clothes again until Sunday.

He removed his suit and tie once he was inside, throwing them in the back seat and reaching for his more comfortable shirt, pulling it on, tucking it in, and reaching for his leather jacket. He zipped it right up and breathed a sigh of relief. How he had ever become a suit and tie man, he wasn't sure... but he didn't have to be during his time off. Cranking up the radio again, he fired up the Delta and took off, following Ullman's directions to Shaye Boulevard, turning on to it and roaring down the street. Passing Springwood High soon after.

A number of teenagers were out walking around, he couldn't blame their stares when he passed them by. Green with envy for a Classic like his. The 90's had not been kind to automobiles. Sure enough, he spotted it on the corner of the street. Red lettering over top of it displaying the name of the diner. There had been a place like it back at Elk Grove. He'd loved the place, but had the feeling this one was even better.

For one thing, there would be no familiar faces here... no whispering, pointing and murmurs of "Ashy Slashy". Just a fresh start... the start of his fun. That prospect alone tempted him to go back to S-Mart and take up Ullman on his offer. To say nothing of the shitty trailer park he was currently living in. But he intended to see what else the town had to offer first.

Parking close to the curb on the other side of the street, he turned the Delta off, locking her up. Stretching his limbs and adjusting his coat, he breathed in the cool, fresh air, looking up and down the downtown road, among all the buildings and pedestrians. There was no decay in the buildings and streets downtown, as it was in Detroit. Everything was well maintained... and he couldn't hear any blaring of police sirens. He felt like a stranger in a strange land... but didn't find that to be a bad thing. Then he turned on his boot and made his way across the street towards the diner, satisfied smile remaining where it was.


	3. The Dream Master I

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!

Alice Lisa Johnson had slept straight through her alarm. She had been so content in the distraction of her dreams... her safe place... with him... that she had forgotten about the real world version of it. Her responsibilities there. If she didn't rush now, both of them would be late. Unraveling herself from her bed and from his phantom embrace, Alice flew to the dresser drawer, retrieved her things and clean uniform and flew as quickly out into the hall for the bathroom.

Rapidly she cast off her night dress in one fluent motion and jumped into the shower, taking perhaps the fastest one she ever had. Finishing up she quickly brushed her hair and tied it back... applying only the minimal amount of needed makeup, and putting on her uniform and mother's necklace. Finishing up with that, she raced to Jacob's room, knocking on the door loudly and entering, soothing him awake at his bedside as hurriedly as she could.

Once he had, she helped him to the bathroom, while she gathered his school things and clothing, setting the school supplies at the kitchen table and handing him his clothes. There was no time for her to eat, she could grab something at the diner. She contented herself with a glass of orange juice. She poured him a bowl of cereal, setting it down at the table to be waiting for him by the time he came out, while she took his lunch pack from the fridge and tucked it into his backpack. When Jacob was cleaned up and ready, he came out to the kitchen and went at once to the table hungrily eating up his bowl. During which she took the time to comb his hair. As soon as he was finished she was putting his coat and backpack on him and marching him to the door.

She paused only long enough to get their shoes on and take Debbie's leather jacket off the rack and throw it on herself. After that, they were out of the house, down the stairs, across the front lawn and to the street, ignoring the displeased and startled looks of their neighbors. They would have one more thing about her to gossip about, as ever. Racing down the sidewalk to the closest bus stop. They had missed their bus, but were there in time for the one after it. Climbing on she paid for them, and they picked a seat close to the door and against a window. When their stop came they were out the doors and down the sidewalk towards the familiar building. Passing by a number of older kids along the way... though the school bell had gone, and most of them were inside.

They flew up the steps of Springwood Elementary and down the hall, hand in hand... reaching the door at the end of the corridor where the last of the remaining parents hugged and kissed their children. Mrs Langenkamp stood off to the side watching it all with a smile, greeting each child as they passed through the door into the classroom. Some of the other parents gave her funny looks, at her appearance and comparative youth, but she ignored their judgement... as she ever had. Her priorities were all that mattered... and he was forever her highest one. Reaching the door, she knelt down before Jacob and hugged him tight, feeling his little arms wrap around her in return.

Keeping him in her arms, she kissed him on both cheeks and his forehead... looking back into Dan's younger face again. Jacob was already him... in miniature. More and more every day. Except the eyes... her eyes. And the hair, Rick's hair. She beamed at him brightly, and he returned her smile. Filling her with a warmth that made all the stress worthwhile. The aches and boredom of the aggravating day and night that surely awaited her. Leaning close, she spoke to him soothingly for him alone to hear, rubbing his back.

"We made it. Have a good time with your friends, sweetie. Mommy has to work a triple shift, just for today... I promised a girl at work that I would. I'll be home by the time you wake up tomorrow. Aunt Yvonne will be picking you up. She'll bring you down to see me at the diner after school. You can show me and the girls your drawings. And then you can go see grandpa. Would you like that?"

"Yes, mommy."

"Good boy.", Alice hugged him again as the last of the parents departed, leaving only the kindergarten teacher standing at the door, kindly waiting for them. Smiling at Alice sympathetically. "Run along to Mrs Langenkemp now, Jacob. Mommy loves you."

"I love you too. Bye bye."

Jacob slowly went back towards the door, waving to her, and she waved right back. When he reached the door Mrs Langenkamp greeted him warmly and took his hand into hers. Looking back into the hall at Alice, she nodded silently, and Alice returned the gesture. She remained where she was as the teacher turned, still speaking to Jacob, with him, and closing the door behind them as classes began. Alice wanted to lean back and rest against the wall, take a moment... but she couldn't. No rest for the weary.

With Jacob's face in mind, she turned back down the hall and hurried down it, by now deserted with all the classes in session. She ran out the front doors past the principle's office and down the steps, down to the streets and to the closest bus stop, checking her watch. She was going to be late. Of course. But it was what it was. Thankfully before too long the bus arrived and took her downtown. Reaching the downtown bus exchange she ran all the way to Shaye Boulevard... and to the Craven Inn on the corner.

She had lost count of how many times she had made this journey... what seemed so long ago, in High School, she had feared she would remain at the place forever, grow old there... something about it frightened and comforted her. She didn't know what else she wanted to be... she had become a mother, a waitress and a Dream Master. All in such a short span of time. Maybe that was enough. She didn't fear remaining here as much as she had. Motherhood and the Dream World were all the excitement she probably needed. But something was missing... something she couldn't quite place. Part of her was missing. Even the best of dreams were not enough... they were exactly that. Illusions. A drug of comfort. Being in his arms again. Being with those she loved. She couldn't go on like that forever. Leading a half of a life. But she didn't know what it was.

Forcing it aside at the doors of the diner, she drew a deep breath... composed herself, and entered, flitting across the floor past the booths and up to the counter where the other girls were working. It was already bustling with noise and activity, customers in nearly every seat and booth. Most of the waitresses were out serving the morning customers, stemming the rush. Anne greeted her with a familiar scowl of displeasure from the cash register, and Alice held up her hands. Interrupting her certain rant prematurely.

"I know, I know. I know what you're going to say. I overslept. I'm sorry."

"I was going to say you're less late than usual. Congratulations. You're still stuck here with me for the next twenty four hours. We all get to suffer together, until the next batch of hires are finalized. Now it's our turn."

"Like I could forget. If I didn't have Jacob, or _Dynasty_ reruns, I'd rather throw myself off a building than do this."

"Lucky you. I don't have kids or soaps to keep me from wanting to do that. Looks like I'll have to tough it out. We can keep sleep rotations in the back, at least. Make the most of it, once the customers die down to the night 'crowd'. Let's get this shitacular day started... the sooner it's behind us, the better."

Alice couldn't disagree. And that was that. Alice went in the back, hung up Debbie's coat and fetched her apron, before coming out front and taking her place behind the counter again. For the next four hours of the first shift she worked, lost herself in it... in thoughts. Fears. Memories. As she did during every shift. Smiling at customers and not feeling it, reciting words to them. She thought of Jacob... and she thought of her dreams of Dan. Jacob gave her purpose... but her dreams were increasingly fleeting. The pleasure she drew from them. They were illusions... beautiful illusions... but illusions all the same... he continued to live in her heart, in Jacob... but he was gone. With all of them. Somewhere better, for all eternity. Where they knew neither pain nor struggle. Where he could not comfort her, as he had before. The thought should have been enough, knowing he was at peace... all of them were... but it wasn't.

It had been over five years since then... the years had passed in the blink of an eye... they made her feel older than she actually was, her experiences. More than her experiences had done that to her. Five years since she had known a real embrace, instead of one summoned from her subconscious. Dreams were all she had, now more than ever... a fleeting shadow of her dream lover... and a genuine Dream Child. She knew that... that he was gone and could never return to her... that his kisses were not real... but she had nothing else. And the harder life became, the more she turned to those dreams. Was that how addicts felt? In some ways perhaps her addiction was more dangerous. Fantasies that tasted bittersweet. Hope and warmth turned to sorrow and cold.

Alice watched the young, happy couples, middle aged happy couples and old happy couples moving in and out of the diner together. All day and night, every day and night she worked there. It didn't matter their age... they were in love, and content... in a world of their own. One she had shared for so brief a time. She envied them, and she was happy for them. A sort of romantic loneliness, perhaps. One she had known most of her life. A distance from it all, even when she was among others. Wanting what they had and fearing it at the same time. Wanting to reach out, but pulling back as well.

But she went on... it was all she could do. It left her wanting... and worse not knowing _what_ she wanted. Needed. Not knowing if she was even doing a good job with Jacob. All she could do was the best with what she still had. And hope that he understood when he got older. At some point, one of the customers, a tall, thin teenage Goth girl dressed in black with long, unkempt black hair and circles under her eyes approached her at the counter. A long streak of white ran through her head. Alice had never seen her around here before... but then, not everyone at the school came here. The girl looked at her with a mixture of silent emotions, conflicted and still. Alice smiled back at the quiet, staring girl who looked much older than she was.

"Welcome to the Crave Inn. How can I help you, Miss?"

"It's _you_... isn't it? He told me about you. I finally found you."

"What are you talking about, Miss?"

"Where the hell were you when we needed you? Did we anger you in some way? Why have you forsaken us? What good is a fucking 'Dream Master' if she isn't even... defending her realm? Protecting our dreams? What the fuck good are you doing here just waiting on tables? If you had... he... I...-

The girl trailed off, visibly resisting the forming tears. Closing her eyes tightly, jaw tightening with exertion. She looked absolutely exhausted, spent... dead on her feet. Alice's eyes widened, watching her with deepening bewilderment, feeling her pulse quickening the moment the stranger spoke the title aloud. When she had gotten control of herself, the girl spoke with a tight, choked voice.

"You're the only one who can stop it. That's what he said. I believed in you. So many of us did." The girl murmured, her face contorted spitefully. Livid. Drawing on her anger for strength. "Or don't. Let us all sleep forever. I don't know which is better anymore. Life or dreams. Now. Get off your ass, and do your real job. Consider this your wake up call, Alice."

Without saying another word, the pale young woman unfolded and held out a newspaper to her. Alice looked between it and her, and the girl shook it encouragingly, glaring at her hatefully. Alice tentatively took it from her... and the moment she had the girl turned on the spot and fled the diner, bumping into one of the waitresses and some customers in her haste. Alice watched her vanish beyond the doors... glancing over to Anne, who merely shrugged. There had been stranger customers. She was going to throw the used newspaper out, when she first glanced at the headline. It froze her in her tracks... and froze her insides.

**Sixth Teen Found Dead In Bedroom. Springwood Police Baffled.**

Alice took the newspaper with her behind the counter and took a seat, opening it up to the story and scanning through it. It was from earlier in the week. Their names and pictures were all listed in the paper... but the titular sixth death was really the seventh death to happen in bed... all in the span of a week. Apparently a ten year old child named George Hughes had been the first to die this way violently... and from there each of the victims had been teenagers. All of their fathers had been arrested, and held for questioning, among other suspects, but they had been released when there was nothing solid one way or another.

A funeral was said to be planned for Saturday morning for the younger boy, but little else in the text. The girl had circled the lettering of the funeral with a pen. The two words '_Be There' _written beside it. There were scant details on how they had died... the investigation was still ongoing. There had been other teenagers found dead... but not all of them in their bedrooms like the article... and there were some outright missing. Perhaps well over a dozen more. Foul play was believed in all cases, but they couldn't pin it to anyone under the circumstances. But she could. As much as she didn't want to. She thought back to her dreams... tried to think if she had heard anything... seen any signs of him.

If he had somehow survived and gone on a rampage across the Dream World she would have known, surely... as the Dream Master. He would have come for her... somehow, some way. Her or Jacob. As he had before. But he hadn't. And she could and would sense if anything was wrong with Jacob's dreams... be able to reach inside and wake him again, pull him into her own safe place. It was true she hadn't ventured much out into the rest of the dream realm since Krueger had been absorbed... hadn't properly explored it... but that had been deliberate. She did not want to risk accidentally giving rise to him again, power, acknowledgement. At least, that was what she had told herself.

These teenagers... had they somehow crossed his path? Roamed the Dream World? Had he been biding his time? She didn't know... and not knowing frightened her most of all. She would need to gather more evidence, when she had the time. In the meantime, she kept Jacob in her mind's eye... if he needed her, she would know. How had she let her attention slide? In the earlier years after Krueger... she had tried to keep an ear and eye out for him. Any signs... she had compiled everything she could, made contact with others who knew of him. And nothing had happened. She had gradually grown to believe he was gone. Or maybe she had just blindly hoped.

Only now he was sneaking back into the Dream World... scurrying... under her nose. Was he too afraid to face her? It was probable... cruel, sadistic though he was, he wasn't stupid. If his previous defeat had not truly destroyed him, it must have done the next best thing. Gave him fear. If he really was on the move again... she would have to deal with him once more, as the Dream Master. Had that been why she hadn't moved away from Springwood, despite the temptation? Had there been a choice in it? Or was she destined to remain here? She didn't know. Part of her had been defiant... Springwood was her home, not Krueger's. It had never been his home... not really, in life or death. It had been his hunting ground. She knew his true home.

She could not and would not flee... both as Dream Master... and as a mother. Kristen had granted her that power... that burden... as had Krueger himself. Created his own enemy... as monsters... demons like him always did. And gave her the means to defy him. How much he must have regretted that... not remorse, of course... but regret, at not thinking long term. At underestimating her... all of them. Underestimating motherhood. She looked at poor George Hughes on the paper again... and felt sadness, anger and a pang of guilt. Though twice her son's age, there were similarities between the two. And she hadn't been there to protect him when he had needed the Dream Master. She didn't understand how the dark haired girl had found out about her... but she hadn't been wrong. What good was she, if she had been letting all this slip by her? Alice slowly slipped the folded newspaper back behind the counter, and forced herself to get back to work. In body at least, if not in thought.

Not too long after noon, the bells on the door rang again, and Yvonne arrived with Jacob, hand in hand... instantly removing her from her deep musings. She felt a warmth spreading inside her, and a smile, seeing his smile again... and Yvonne's. Alice stopped what she was doing, went around the counter on to the floor and hugged and kissed Jacob, sweeping him up in her arms. Asking him about his day and listening. The past unpleasant hours instantly evaporating. The two of them came up to the counter and each took a seat there, while Alice went back around the counter to face them. Yvonne helped him take off his bag and set it on the counter, opening it up.

One after another the various waitresses came out to say hi, hug, and speak with Jacob. Alice hung back, watching over it all proudly. Watching him smile up at them. Yvonne took out his drawings and pencil boxes, but before Alice could check them out, a few customers came in for her to handle. And a few other duties came up. After a half an hour, she was able to get a respite, and check in on them. While Yvonne at his side was talking to Anne, Jacob was coloring in a figure he had drawn at some point. Alice smiled at him and leaned closer over the counter, rubbing Jacob's head gently and looking over his work.

"And who is this handsome fellow?"

"I had a dream about him at nap time. At drawing time I drew him. You can keep him if you want mommy. He'll protect you."

Finishing up coloring the figure, and writing something over the figure, Jacob turned the page around for her to see. Alice reached down to pick it up, looking it over. It was a man. His midsection was drawn in blue, and his legs drawn in brown. He had dark hair, with a little patch of white at the side of his head... and his right arm was a giant barbed sword, with red droplets falling from it and smoke trails rising above it. His left arm was risen over his head, holding a long dark object she couldn't recognize... smoke rising from it's tip as well. A cyborg warrior of some kind from the Middle Ages? Jacob had quite the active imagination already at least. Mark would have loved him, would have shown him all his drawings and comics. Maybe he had a future in comic books. But what Jacob had written in messy lettering above the figure made her go still, eyes narrowing.

**Dream Hero**

Just then the bell rang on the door and she looked up from the drawing, and down to the lone man standing in the doorway. Giving her pause. He was a tall, dark brown haired, deeply handsome man in his early to mid thirties wearing a zipped up but loose maroon leather jacket... and a pair brown jeans. His right hand bore a thickly padded glove and his other didn't. He was well built, yet moved with an easy, relaxed grace... looking over the surroundings of the diner looking quite impressed by what he saw at the establishment. Emitting a low whistle that she heard over all the noise.

A nearby gaggle of older teenage girls in a booth were staring at the stranger... looking as though they weren't sure if they wanted to laugh, or invite him over. He caught them staring and flashed a smile and cheeky wink. Finger gunning them. They giggled either at him or because of him, whispering among themselves... as other teenagers around the place caught sight of him, whispering to each other. Spotting the jukebox in the corner, he made his way over to it, scanning through the titles within. At her side, Yvonne's thoroughly amused, exasperated voice murmured, not quite pulling her from the strange reverie that flitted over her.

"Oh Lord have mercy. I see Hutch, but where's Starsky? Are you watching this, Alice?"

"I am. He looks good."

"For the 1970's. Honey, I know you like leather, but I think you've been working here too long. Debbie would have been all over him though. You sure it's not the _her_ in you doing the thinking?"

"Hey, I'd hit it." Anne supplied aloofly before Alice could reply, from off to the side as she organized cutlery. Anne was glancing between them and the man by the jukebox. "Not like you'd have to worry about waking up with him the next morning."

"Shhh, Anne. There are children present!", Brenda hissed with a smile, making her way by, putting her hands gently on either side of Jacob's ears as he drew on another page. "Language. Let his innocence last, at least, just because yours died a long time ago. If it existed."

Yvonne and a couple of the watching waitresses laughed with Anne. Brenda leaned down, kissing Jacob on the head and got back to work with most of the others, all of them laughing and joking among themselves. Only her and Yvonne lingering. Alice paid little heed to the girls and their jokes, merely watched him. He was trying to decide upon a song. She saw him turn his head and look down at the waitresses, a smile touching his lips. Putting some coins in the machine, he chose. But the record didn't play. The machine was malfunctioning again. Not the first time it had happened. The man in the leather coat didn't look phased. He looked at a certain part of the jukebox, down at it's side, and slapped it hard. The jukebox came to life, and the familiar tune began to play. Paul Stanley's elevated voice gradually emanating from the speakers. Singing about his 'loving' prowess and desires.

"Has some Fonzie in him too, from the look of it.", Yvonne noted wryly as the man finally turned, making his way towards them, up to the counter. No... towards her. She felt his eyes on her, and was transfixed to the spot. "If he's looking for a job, and you're so hot for him Alice, it could save some money on repairmen."

Approaching the counter, he reached over with his left hand and gently rubbed Jacob on top of the head, mussing up his hair a bit good naturedly. Jacob looked over to him as the big man sat down in the red leather seat on the other side of him. Resting a thickly gloved and bare hand respectively on the counter, tapping his left in rhythm with the song. All three of them looked at the man... Yvonne with amusement, resisting a laugh, Jacob with something strangely like wonder... and Alice with... well. She hoped it wasn't written on her face.

Leaning forward towards her the man looked deeply back into Alice's eyes like she was the only woman in the room... and she saw his own. A deep, warm brown, full of amusement. Fun and energy. Life. Smoldering good looks. When he leaned forward, she caught a glimpse of a small silver necklace chain at his neck... but it slipped back down out of sight. His jaw was chiseled and powerful, with a small scar on his chin... clean shaven, and he had dimples with his smile. Even a loose spit curl clinging to his head. Even better looking up close... and the way he looked at her made her forget the greeting she was supposed to be giving him. Made her feel a warmth creeping up the back of her neck... that she tried to keep from showing on her pale face. His eyes looked her over with no subtlety, to the name tag on her uniform, before returning to her gaze.

And then he opened his mouth.

"How ya doin', Red? Heard you serve breakfast all day and night. Got anything edible in this joint?"

"Everything is good here.", Alice started at his confident, smooth voice, remembering herself. She picked up a menu from behind the counter and held it out to the man. Clearing her throat and speaking over the music. "Best in Springwood."

"I can see that.", The man returned slyly, looking her and Yvonne over again, grin flashing. He took the menu from her carefully, fingers deliberately brushing against hers, before opening it up and looking inside. "Well let's see here... I'm not a complicated man. I know what I want when I see it. One Big Springwood Breakfast, all the fixings... and a chocolate milkshake. Please and thank you."

"Right away, sir."

Alice smiled back at his grin slightly, and backed away, writing down and placing the order for the cook, delivering it. Once she came back around to the front, she went over to Yvonne, tugging on her arm as she stared at the man, who had looked over to watch Jacob continue drawing. Yvonne looked back up at her at once, and Alice leaned in, whispering quietly.

"Yvonne, I need to talk to you for a minute. In private."

Maybe it was her urgent tone, but Yvonne understood it was serious at once, nodding and rising. They moved over to the corner away from the front counter, by a window, keeping Jacob in view. He had started talking with the man, but over all the noise and the music she couldn't hear what about. Jacob was showing the man his drawings, and the man grinned again as he spoke. Jacob smiling back just as much. Laughing. Eager to impress the stranger. As she watched them, Alice retrieved the newspaper she had set aside and handed it to Yvonne, who began to silently go over the article for a few minutes. When she had finished reading it, closing it up, Alice spoke to her again quietly.

"A girl came by earlier and gave me that paper. Have you heard anything about this?"

"I haven't been keeping up with the news lately. My nursing shifts and swim schedule has been running me ragged. If you hadn't noticed my absences at home. What's the big deal?"

"It's _him_, Yvonne. It know it is."

"How can that be? How can we be sure it's the same thing? It sounds like it... but how could he possibly survive? You told me he was finished. Reduced to a harmless infant and put back in his mother's womb. How is anything coming back from that?"

"That's all he has been doing, surviving what he shouldn't. The bastard is never gone forever. I thought he was last time, and look at everyone it cost us. He depends on our hope, hoping he is gone, so we ignore what's in front of us. When I was running from the Dream World those years ago, as he was being sealed away, I saw his hand bursting from her stomach... he was trying to claw his way out. I hoped he was gone... dared to believe it... but it's too good to be true."

"Have you seen him in any of your dreams? Any signs at all? Heard anything? The creepy girls playing jump rope? The house?"

"No. Nothing. But these teenagers... what if they found a way to set him loose while exploring the Dream World? Accidentally helped him come back? Manipulation is as much Krueger's power as what he can do in the dream world. He might have found a way we don't know about. He's been part of it much longer than us. He could have been biding his time..."

Alice broke off. From the corner of her eye, the man next to Jacob rose not long after _Kiss_'s song had ended. With a wink at Jacob, he made his way back over to the jukebox... looking back over the song titles within. Rubbing his chiseled jaw absently. She looked back into Yvonne's eyes... now wasn't the time for this. Not here. While Jacob was close. It would be dealt with, but not yet. Alice took back the news paper from Yvonne and made her way back behind the counter, folding it up and setting it down behind the counter again. Yvonne sighed and retook her vacated seat beside Jacob, wrapping her arm around him and smiling.

"Looks like you've made a new friend, Jacob."

"That's him mommy. Auntie Yvonne.", Jacob whispered excitedly, turning in his seat to look at the man by the jukebox. "The man from my dream. The man she showed me."

"Who showed you? What do you mean?"

Jacob turned back around to her and Yvonne, and picked up one of his other drawings, holding it out to the two women. Yvonne took the drawing, turning it to an angle she and Alice could both examine it. He had drawn the figure of what seemed to be a woman. Clad in a long white shroud and veil. A tall tower with a cross on top of it behind her.

"That's Sister Mary.", Jacob explained to them, smiling warmly. "She's a nice lady. She told me about him."

Slowly, very slowly, Alice and Yvonne looked up from the drawing at the same time. Looked at each other. Understanding dawning on Yvonne's face, the skepticism of before evaporating. And why shouldn't it? She had set the Sister's tormented soul free. Seen it for herself. Saved her and Jacob and countless others in doing so. Alice leaned over closer to her son, gently taking his hand and speaking to him.

"What did Sister Mary tell you, Jacob?"

"He's a hero. A knight who fell from the sky. If we protect him he'll protect us."

"Protect him from what?"

"From himself. And from Freddy. From the pit."

Jacob paused, looking for and withdrawing another piece of paper from his book. Handing it over to them. A figure of a man with a dirty brown hat, a green and red striped sweater and knifes for fingers. He stood beside a large black hole in the ground... above which an assortment of rich colors swirled. Yvonne silently mouthed a curse word, eyes widening. And in that moment they shared a complete understanding, and quick resolve. As Jacob lost himself in his coloring again, Yvonne leaned over the counter closer, murmuring quietly to Alice. Tone rock solid, assured.

"What do you want me to do, Alice?"

"Please take him to my father's for a visit. Tell dad that Krueger is back, and tell him not to go to sleep until I say so. When it gets late take Jacob back home. When it's time for him to sleep, I want you to stay awake. Watch over him until I get back in the morning. I'll try to cut out as early as I can. Any troubling signs at all, you wake him up."

"I understand. Thank God it's a weekend, at least. What are you going to do? You can't just stay here and work at a time like this. That sick bastard is out there somewhere. We need to find him. Stop him somehow. Before he finds us again."

"I think I'm _supposed_ to stay here. Talk to _him_.", Alice nodded over in the man's direction, Yvonne following her gaze to the jukebox. "Amanda wanted Jacob and me to know he was coming. That there's something important about him... something to do with all this."

"What difference can some macho 70's caveman possibly make?", Yvonne asked skeptically, looking away from him with a shake of her head and back to her. Shrugging slightly and smiling. Hey, it's your call... 'Dream Master'. And who am I to question a nun?"

Alice smiled a little wryly back at her, and hugged her in gratitude. Thanking her quietly. When they had separated, Yvonne went back over to Jacob's side, rubbing his back.

"Jacob, your mommy has to get back to work now. But we're going to go see grandpa and watch some cartoons with him. Won't that be fun?"

Jacob smiled widely at that and nodded, rising up off the chair. Yvonne and Alice helped gather his things. Putting his coat and backpack on again. Alice wrapped her arm around him as the three of them moved away from the counter, down the floor and towards the door. Approaching the man in the coat along the way. When they reached the jukebox, Jacob stopped next to the man, and he turned around from the jukebox with a smile at the boy.

"I have to go now. See you later mister."

"Hey, you can call me Ash, little man.", The man in the leather coat told him warmly, rubbing him on the head again. Glancing between him and his mother bemusedly. "And see you around too. Keep up those drawings, and breaking hearts."

"I will. Bye bye Ash."

Jacob turned and continued past him for the door, Alice keeping her hand on him, and Yvonne keeping close. Alice felt his eyes following her... and despite what was happening... liked the feeling, even if it risked making her flush. Reaching the door she knelt down before Jacob and pulled him into another hug, kissing his cheeks and head. Slowly, reluctantly, she rose, stepping back a bit so Yvonne could take his hand. Saying their farewells, Yvonne and Jacob went out the door and Alice stood before it, watching them go. Jacob looked back once and waved to her, and she waved right back. Crossing the street together at the sidewalk, they soon vanished around a corner out of her view. Alice lingered there for a moment, looking out on to the road.

Her gaze settled to an occupied parking spot at the curb on the other side of the road. A tan 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale. She wasn't sure if she knew the car's make on her own, or from Rick or Debbie. Now and again, some of them still came through... what they had known. They would always be with her, even as their souls were at rest. Finally, Alice turned away from the door, finding the man in the leather jacket watching her. The moment she spotted him his gaze returned to the jukebox, cutely pretending she hadn't noticed him. A smile touched her lips as she made her way back across the diner, passing him. Making her way behind the counter again, she took a seat... noting the piece of paper resting on it.

Jacob had left one of the drawings where it was... and Alice reached down at once to retrieve it. Looking it over again. His drawing of the 'Dream Hero'. He'd left it there for _her_. She looked between it, and the man, and then Alice carefully folded up the drawing and put it in the front pocket of her uniform. At the same time the man finally made his choice... looking back down to her at the counter as the jukebox started up again. Elton's John's voice emanating through the speakers. Singing tenderly about a woman with blue eyes.

Alice felt her heart skip a beat... pulse quickening... watching as the man slowly returned to the counter. Slowly taking his eyes off her. The exact moment he sat down, Anne came out with his heaping plate of food and milkshake. The man's pleased, relaxed voice spoke up to Anne, looking at her instead, while Alice stared at him.

"Thanks, dollface. You get off anytime soon?"

"Not with you, Romeo. My boss is already screwing me with a long work day."

"Now that's just cold, baby."

"You'll get over it. I'm sure you've already scoped out someone else around here. Nice musical tastes, by the way. Real subtle."

With a knowing smirk, Anne glanced at Alice, and went into the back of the restaurant. She could hear the girls laughing back there and talking among themselves, and forced herself not to listen to them. To resist the spreading flush. She knew it was spread on her face by now, but tried anyways. The man watched Anne go with a chuckle, before digging right into his meal ravenously. Focusing seemingly entirely on it. Alice brought over his ketchup and other condiments and sides... but he didn't look up at her when she did.

Alice studied him all the while from behind the counter... trying to focus instead of listening to the song he chose for her... to come to a conclusion on who he was. His importance... to the Dream World. Dream Hero... was it connected to the Dream Warriors? She had never seen him until today. But then... maybe she would have, if she had not been so far away in her own corner of the Dream World. Distracted. Was that why Amanda had gone to Jacob, instead of her? Did this man even know anything about it? He had 'out of town' written all over him. But then again, everyone in the world dreamed.

"You know, ordinarily I could never stand people watching me while I eat. But you? I think I could make an exception, Red."

His eyes finally snapped back over to her as he finished swallowing a bite... returning her gaze. Smile returning. A smile she felt herself replicating, unable to help herself. Leaning a bit closer behind the counter.

"You aren't from around here, are you?"

"Nope. But I could grow to like the place."

"Oh? Anything in particular?"

"Better grub here than anything in Detroit. Prettier waitresses. So that's two check marks for Springwood. I'm sure this place has a few other points in it's favor, at least."

The man winked at her, and returned to his meal as the song finished up. Alice got back to work behind the counter, preparing a pot of coffee... keeping her eye on him all the while. As little by little he finished his meal and drink in comfortable silence. Once he had, she fetched his bill for him and lay it down next to his plate. Meeting her eyes again, he spoke up to her again when she did.

"That kid of yours is pretty cool too. Back home they tend to be little terrors. Roving gangs of them hurling bottles through my front window and at my Classic. Thank God for my shotgun. Especially on Halloween. Going to be a regular Casanova when he grows up, that one. Mark my words. His old man still in the picture?

"No.", Alice replied quietly, keeping herself carefully controlled. Dan's face flashing in her mind's eye again, settling over the man's face. The image vanished slowly, but the handsome man was still there behind it, studying her with open interest. She felt a familiar pang of guilt. "He's no longer with us."

"Bailed on ya, huh? Bummer. His loss. My mom did the same to us."

Alice felt a flash of anger touch her at his breezy demeanor... but quickly calmed herself. He didn't know about Dan, didn't understand. Probably couldn't. As much as she wanted to correct him... to tell him Dan had been murdered just down the road... that he had been running to Alice and Jacob, not away from them... it wouldn't matter. He wasn't psychic and hadn't known. And his confession about his mother gave her pause for a moment. Despite his aloof manner... she believed that he was telling her the truth. And what he had admitted was not a light matter. She was silent long enough for him to take his wallet out and pay just enough to cover the bill.

"No tip? Was my service _that_ lousy?"

"On the contrary, doll. Your service was so good that you got better than a tip. You got my company...", The handsome stranger replied with a laugh, reaching into his wallet again. Drawing something from it and extending it out to her. A card. Waving it slightly at her, beckoning her with it. "And you get this. Didn't get a chance to give one to your not quite as pretty friend back there. She misses out, you don't. I don't hand these to just anyone."

Reaching up, she took the card... and again he deliberately brushed her fingers, sending a tingling impulse up her arm. Creeping along her neck. Threatening to make her flush again. Staring at her again the way he had before. Not lustful, or perverse, for all his bravado... but intent. Searching her face and seeing something there he liked. Somehow reading her silently. Before she could say anything, he glanced around, as though checking for eavesdroppers... and then he leaned in, gesturing for her to do the same. Once she had, his low tone murmured in her ear conspiratorially. Intimately.

"Just between you and me, there's a second exception I'm willing to break just for you. My strict 'no dating women with kids' rule. I'll be in town for the weekend, business conference, and I keep my cell phone close. Call anytime, Red. You can show me the sights. I can show you a few."

Raising his hand, he boldly stroked a few loose strands of hair out of her eye, smile deepening. Against herself, she felt herself returning the smile... with a girlish shyness she hadn't felt since High School. And then as quickly as he'd done the gesture, his hand was drawing back. Before she could say or do anything, he rose from the leather seat and turned, strutting across the floor and towards the door, winking at another table of teenage girls. They burst into riotous laughter behind him as he reached the doors.

Still for a moment, Alice recovered and, ignoring the stares of her co workers, followed after him on instinct, sweeping around the counter and past the jukebox, tables and booths. She reached the doors just as they closed in her face, looking through the glass to spot him strutting across the road like the rest of the world didn't exist. Cars honked and stopped for him, a driver cursing at him, but to the man the driver wasn't even there. He was the center of the world.

The man strutted to the car parked on the opposite road from the diner. The Delta. Unlocking and climbing into the car, he slammed the door and the engine roared to life. Without warning he pealed off from the curb and raced down the street out of sight. She lingered there after he was gone, for a long moment, before looking down at what he had left her with. From the card, the man's handsome, broadly grinning face looked back at her again, slicked back hair and a tie visible along with a blue uniform smock. Lines of text written just beside it.

_Ashley J. Williams. Managerial Assistant, Housewares Domestic Engineer. _

_S-Mart, Michigan Branch. _

_Mossy Haven Trailer Park, Detroit, Michigan_

_Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart._

There were three phone numbers on the card just below the familiar blue, red and yellow S-Mart logo. One for the S-Mart in Detroit, one for his address, and the other for his cellphone. Slowly, she looked away from the card and the doors, back to the diner, and the counter. The teenage girls who had laughed before were watching her with amusement, as were the waitresses. She knew she would not hear the end of it already. They were just waiting with bated breath for her to get back to them and let her have it. She was in no hurry, to say the least.

She trusted Amanda... Sister Mary... with her life. With Jacob's life. Owed her much. If she would speak of him to Jacob, there must be an importance to him. He would be back... or she would pull him back herself. He had to sleep sometime, somewhere in Springwood. When the moment presented it's self. He was here in town for a reason. Had given her that card for a reason... well, more than _one_ reason. Even if he didn't quite realize it yet... he would. Alice tucked the card away in the front pocket of her uniform with Jacob's drawing... and went back to work. As she made her way to the counter, Anne led the sarcastic applause of a few waitresses with a smirk. There was some hooting and hollering all around her when she got behind the counter. Customers and waitresses alike. Alice felt her face burning, in spite of her best efforts, and turned away from them, suppressing the urge to laugh with them. She felt a few hands patting her on the back encouragingly.

"Sure know how to pick em', Allie. Never actually saw someone get serenaded by a stranger before. But it's just as well. You _really_ _do_ need to get laid."

"Annie? I love you too. But please... shut the hell up."


	4. The Dream Hero II

_"So is Springwood really as beautiful as they say, Ashley?"_

"Better, baby. You'd love it here. Blue skies, rainbows and sunshine, all day long. Could probably leave my car door unlocked. "

"_You should have taken me along with you. I'm sure you could have spun some yarn of needing assistance to Mr Smart. I'd make the trip extra memorable."_

"I know, I know. Maybe next time, sugar. Then again, I promised Ted first, and I'm not one to break man code."

"_Mmm. As long as you make it up to me when you get back. So... what are you wearing, Ashley?"_

"Leather coat. Blue shirt. Brown pants. Blue socks. Listen, Jenny, we'll have to skip the extended pillow talk tonight, baby. I'm wrecked. Gotta turn in for the night. If I can find somewhere that doesn't cost another hand _and_ a foot. I'll call you in the morning, alright?"

"_But it is the morning-_

Ash hung up the cell phone on Jenny for the umpteenth time and closed it up, tucking it back inside his jacket pocket. Girl was going to drain his batteries, at the rate she talked on the phone. She was already draining one of his batteries. Her attachment lately had become more than a bit stifling. She was good in the sack... fun enough, but he'd told her from the start they were going to have to keep it casual. If this kept up...

Ash uttered a low breath, he looked bitterly over at the Springwood Hotel from where he was parked. It's neon lights shone back at him in the night sky, beckoning him... but the prices kept him right where he was. Stewing in resentment outside. He had spent the day cruising all up and down and around Springwood. Checking out the college babes, exploring every district he could, watching the sunset. It was a hell of a town. He couldn't deny that. Better than Detroit in every conceivable way. Except for one way. It was such a good town they didn't have any cheap piece of shit back road motels around. He really should have done his research before hand.

Now it was one in the goddamn morning and he couldn't find anything decently priced. Especially for a three night stay. Whatever. It wouldn't be the first time he'd slept in the Classic. Him, Scotty and Chet had made it an art form back in college. Turning off the Delta's radio, leaning back in his seat, Ash locked all the doors and closed his eyes. The only sounds came from the occasional passing car... but traffic had mostly died down awhile ago. Still... no matter how hard he tried, how tired he was, he didn't feel himself lapsing into sleep. After a few minutes, tossing and turning uncomfortably in his seat, he gave up, opening his eyes.

Maybe the lack of noise was the problem. He was too used to his screaming landlord, drunkard neighbors and police sirens. A peaceful night was a damn strange concept. Hell with it. There were a few spots out in the suburbs he hadn't checked yet. Maybe there would be something out there. And if not, maybe he'd be exhausted enough to pass out then. Firing up the Classic, Ash threw it in drive and pealed off the curb, roaring down the road. Turning on his radio and cranking it up. A melody he hadn't been expecting came blasting out of the stereo.

_Mr Sandman._

Ash couldn't remember putting that one on the cassette. But it was catchy, so he wasn't complaining. He began to sing and tap along with it. The Delta tore up one empty street and that, deeper into Springwood, without any luck. Everything seemed to be shut down, and he couldn't see any new places. He didn't even pass any other cars along the way. Eventually, he turned on to a particular looming street ahead, it's illuminated sign welcoming him.

_**Elm Street.**_

Another slice of Americana... lined with fine, spacious houses on either side... perfect lawns. All the lights were out in them... except one further down the road... the last house on the left. Ash cruised down closer towards the light post outside it... glimpsing a big white house with a single bright red door. Two white columns on either side at the front of the house supporting the small roof over the front stoop. Six windows on the top floor... six windows on the bottom floor. All the lights were on inside... there were rich green shrubs and trees around the yard, save for the fancy stone path leading up to a couple steps in front of the door. _Leave It To Beaver_ might as well have been filmed there. Out on the front lawn there was a tall, big illuminated sign, shining like a welcome beacon in his tired eyes.

_**Fredrick Krueger's 1428 Elm Street Bed And Breakfast. **_

_**Vacancy. Affordable Prices. All You Can Eat.**_

About goddamn time. And all it had took was a little patience and determination. Laughing to himself triumphantly, Ash parked out in front of the place. As he got out and locked up the Classic again, he heard a sound behind him. He turned to find he had been so focused on the sign he'd somehow missed a half a dozen or so little girls in white dresses out on the front law. Skipping rope and playing together. Reciting a strange, monotone melody.

At one in the morning.

_"One... two, Freddy's coming for you! Three... four, better lock your door! Five... six, grab your crucifix! Seven... eight, better stay up late! Nine... ten, never sleep again!"_

Creepy nursery rhyme. He'd never heard of it. Must have been something new the kids came up with. Ash put his hands in his coat pockets and walked a bit closer to them, up to the lawn. They didn't react to his presence... and when they didn't he spoke up.

"Hey, ladies, I know it isn't a school night, but isn't it a bit early to be out skipping rope?"

The ones that didn't ignore him giggled at him, but said nothing to him. Other than reciting their rhyme again. Over and over. 90's kids. No respect for adults. Their crappy Woodstock attending parents were to blame, handing out participation awards and trophies they didn't get as kids. Spoiled. Lack of discipline. His old man never had a problem in that department. Well, other than for himself, of course. Ignoring their creepy little chant he strolled by the skipping girls and up the walkway down the center of the lawn towards the red door. As he approached it, the door opened, and a woman with curly blonde hair and a long red and green dress stepped out to greet him. Beckoning him with a painted, long red nailed hand up to the front step.

"I'm Mrs Loretta Krueger. My husband is asleep just now, but I was up and saw you pull in. Did you need a place to stay then, dearie?"

"That'd be a godsend, lady. I thought I was going to crash into a tree on my way over-

Almost at once, the closer he got to the door, Ash broke off, realizing she looked like a man in a wig and dress. With a pointy nose and angular face... green eyes looking back at him from behind the thick glasses. He was a bit weirded out, but who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? And what big teeth were in that jaw. He wasn't about to point out the obvious and risk getting turned back out into the street over something so trivial. He was too worn out for that. Besides, he saw them every time he traveled up Eight Mile Road. They were friendly enough. And at least this one was better dressed than any of them. 'She' smiled at him deeper, with an air of polite curiosity.

"Is something the matter, young man?"

"Uh... yeah. No. I've been up all morning and night.", Ash answered hurriedly, finding his voice again, he spoke more casually, pretending not to notice. Rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "I don't get some rest soon I'm going to drop right here on the lawn. Everywhere else in town was either booked solid or too expensive."

"Well now, you'll be able to sleep as long as you need to in here, dearie."

"What's with all the kids?", Ash asked, pointing back over his shoulder their way. "A little early to be up playing jump rope, isn't it?"

"Oh pay the dears no mind. Just the neighborhood children... aren't they sweet?"

"I guess... I'm a bit out of touch with the youth these days. When I was up at this hour at their age it was to go cow tipping. Fire bottle rockets and blow up mailboxes. Kid stuff."

"Look at you, young man, you're practically dead on your feet. Come in, come in."

The 'lady' wrapped an arm around his waist, a hand with long nails settling against it. With surprising strength for 'her' age, 'she', drew him inside, closing the door behind them. A carpeted stairway immediately greeted them, and a reasonably sized interior, the front parlor. As well furnished inside as it was outside. He could see the living room from where they stood, and part of the kitchen. It was warm as well, the coldness from outside evaporating in an instant... and the sounds of the girls going silent. There was a coat rack just next to the door, with a red and green sweater hung up on one hook, and a brown fedora hat on another, but they were otherwise unoccupied. He turned back to 'Mrs' Krueger with a tired smile as 'she' withdrew 'her' grip.

"Listen, lady, I'm a bit strapped for cash, but the sign said something about affordable prices...-

"Oh hush now. We can discuss payment in the morning, young man. You are exhausted. Can I take your coat?"

"I'll hold on to it, thanks. No need."

"Would you at least like me to make you something to eat first?"

"No thanks, Ma'am. Still tided over from a giant afternoon breakfast.", Ash replied, rubbing his gut, and meant it. "Thank you for the hospitality though. I should head straight to bed."

"Top of the stairs, around the banister, to the first door in the corner above us.", 'She' smiled a bit too sweetly, gesturing a long nailed hand to the stairs in front of them. "If you need anything at all, just call for me. I will be up in the front parlor doing some knitting. And if Mr Krueger makes any noise out in the hall, please let me know. He has been known to wander the house in the late and early hours."

"I'll take that under advisement. Night, lady."

Ash gave 'her' a forced polite smile, and made for the stairs, ascending over them, hand moving along the banister. At the top of the staircase, he looked ahead into the hall at all the closed doors... and slowly looked back downstairs. Mrs Krueger remained where 'she' was, waving up at him... red lipped smile turning into a wide toothy grin. He returned the gestures, another forced grin and a wave of his gloved hand, and looked back ahead, rounding the corner of the banister and making for the first door in the corner, close to one of the upstairs windows.

He looked out it, down on to the front lawn of the Bed and Breakfast... still the girls were out there playing. He _must_ have been tired, because their movements were slow... too slow. Shaking his head, he looked over to the door next to the window. Reaching it, his hand settled on the door handle... but paused mid turn when he spotted the small white sign clipped to the front of it, and the red lettering imprinted there.

** NO**

_Out Of Town_

** CHICKS**

Ash raised a speculative eyebrow at the sign. That certainly wasn't like the sign posted on his own bedroom door back in Detroit... or the family home in Elk Grove. With a slight shrug, he opened the door, stepped inside, turned on the light and closed the door behind him. He turned... to find himself in a teenager's bedroom. Neat, tidy, organized. A few boring planetary related posters in the corner behind the bed that sat crookedly next to the blind covered windows, right in front of him. Carpeted floor. A small lamp with a blue light on a small table to the left of the bed. A wooden dresser up against the wall to the right of the bed with a bigger lamp and a big cassette player on top of it, and a small box full of tapes.

There was a mirror up on the wall behind the dresser. Baseball and tennis trophies lined the dresser instead of football trophies... tennis rackets instead of footballs. Baseball and tennis were for kids... not teenagers like the former occupant obviously was. There was a long closed closet to the left of him along the wall. Turning back to his side, in the corner next to the door was a tall shelf, cluttered with junk, with a television set plugged in. Turning all the way around he looked at the back of the closed door... to find a Kate Bush poster staring back at him. Ash's brow raised even further with that discovery.

Worse than a teenager's room. A total dweeb's bedroom. Neat, tidy, organized. Had the old lady's granddaughter used to own the room? When had they converted the place into a Bed and Breakfast? Last week? What customer would want to stay in a room like this, unless they had no options like himself? Trying to sleep in the Delta again was starting to look like a good idea. Ash went directly over to the closet, looking inside... there was a long rack lined with shirts and coats... hats... outfits he wouldn't be caught dead in. Looking up to the shelf above was a folded sweater... a big straw hat with a flower in it of all things... and a board game called "_Probe_", among other games. Backing away slowly, Ash closed the door with a snap again. Turning around, looking over the room... he shrugged, muttering under his breath.

Spotting two pairs of sunglasses over on the dresser, he moved over to it... one of them was possibly the only item in the room with any coolness. Even then it was a little marred sitting next to the other pair of glasses... glittering golden Elton John resembling glasses with a thunderbolt on either side. Ash grimaced. It was an easy choice. Picking the normal, dark pair up, he slipped them on, looking at his reflection in the mirror... grinning... then taking them off. Folding them up and tucking them away in his coat pocket. He'd put them to better use than the former occupant had been, surely. And if he came back, there was still the other pair.

Turning from the mirror he removed his boots, socks and coat, setting it down on the floor before the bed. He shrugged out of his shirt and removed his glove next... examining the mechanical gauntlet beneath. He sat down on the bed, testing it out, making sure the spring loaded joints hadn't rusted at all. Enclosing the hand into a powerful grip. He gave a satisfied nod and checked the straps and buckles keeping the hand fastened securely in place. They remained taut and snug. Breathing easier, he unbuckled his jeans and cast them aside. Leaving on only his underwear and Linda's necklace.

Making his way around the bed to the window, he peeked through the blinds... still those creepy, slow little girls were out there. Chiseled jaw tightening, he closed the blinds and made his way back around the bed, sitting down on it. It was comfortable enough... and just managed to hold him. His eyes settled on the cassette player, and he rose, examining it... there was a tape inside already. His mechanical finger tapped the play button... and music poured out that made him want to go deaf.

Ash fumbled with the cassette player, managing to press the stop button, removed the cassette and threw it safely into a nearby wastebasket. Shuddering. He examined the titles of the cassettes in the box next to the player. None of them were any more encouraging, or worth lifting. His tired eyes looked around the room again carefully.

Between the former occupant's posters... the music... the board game... there was a closet joke in this room. Buried away deeply somewhere. Hidden.

But he was too tired to think of one.

Instead, Ash lay back down on the bed, getting under the covers, laying back his head. Feeling the relaxation over his tired frame. He breathed a low, contented breath of relief. The only thing that would have made it better would be that cute little redhead laying here beside him. His mind was a bit fuzzy about her name... but she wore white. Pale. Freckles. And the most gorgeous eyes he'd ever seen in his life. At least since Linda. He reached down and lifted her silver necklace, peering through it's looking glass in silence for a long moment. Then dropping it back down on to his chest.

Closing his eyes, he made another serious attempt at drifting off. He was sure he had nearly succeeded... but he felt too warm. Removing the covers with a grumpy sound, he tried to open the window, to find it stuck fast. Maybe that was just as well, it probably wasn't worth hearing the creepy girls again. He looked around the room for a heater... but couldn't find one. It hadn't been this hot when he'd entered. He lay back in the bed, soaked in sweat... and growing steadily more irritated. Closing his eyes, somewhere in the distance he heard footsteps... echoing. Footsteps that weren't right... boots upon concrete, not feet on carpet. The scraping of metal upon metal. And still the heat grew. Heat and noise... and his temper.

"Lady! Can you turn down the temperature down there?"

No response came up from downstairs. He tried again to get through to 'her', to the same result. Grunting and cursing, he rose up off the bed again, starting for the door... and remembered his metal hand. He redressed hurriedly, not bothering to zip up his jacket... sweat already staining the blue shirt. Wiping his forehead, he made for the door, opening it and stepping out into the hall. It was no better out there than in the bedroom. It was worse. Leaning over the banister, he yelled down the stairs.

"Hey lady! You have a heater down there or a goddamn blast furnace? Could you please turn it down?"

Nothing. Like before. And still the heat worsened. Annoyance building, Ash made his way around the banister and back for the stairs, stopping at the top of it. Looking back around the hall of the upstairs. Silence. The entire house was as silent as a tomb. But he felt the hairs on his arms... the back of his neck, starting to rise. Something wasn't right with this place. And the interior of the Delta was already looking cozier. Served him right for leaving her. It was time to get the hell out. Hand gripping the banister, he put his boot on the first step... and promptly fell through it.

His boot sank through the carpet and into a grey, sticky muck within. Losing his balance, hand flying off the banister, he fell forward screaming at the top of his lungs. One after another he struck stair after stair... and kept striking them... more stairs than there had been before in the house. In the midst of it he watched the stairs change from carpeted to metal... and he kept right on falling and hollering. Feeling every impact. Eventually, he reached the bottom... eyes remaining tightly shut. All he heard at first was his own breathing... felt the heat... and then he heard it in the distance. No... all around him. Metal scraping metal. Automated sounds. Whirring.

Slowly, Ash opened his eyes, to find himself in a dark place... at the bottom of a flight of metal stairs... a walkway. He looked up the stairs... but there was no light up there... it led up into darkness... into a void. Slowly, groggily, he forced himself to stand... ignoring the soreness spreading through him. He looked up and around... no... not a dark place, at least not pitch black. There were fires... and rusty, swinging lights at certain points, moving with a rumble that emanated through the place. Casting shadows. The place was alive... breathing... as much as any person. Somehow, he stood in a vast factory... a plant... and a subterranean boiler room, all in one. There were numerous walkways and paths around the area, overhead and below.

Mutilated corpses mounted to hooks rotated around... bleeding chains clanking together... boiling hot steam pipes ran like snakes along the walls, overhead and all over the place... they shifted, smoke rising from them. Water dripping off them at different points. Rats scurrying by along the floor. Looking down the rusty walkway he stood on... it led to a concrete platform... a work area of some kind, where a louder noise was emanating. He went to it, boots tapping on the metal walkway... his eyes darting this way and that, at every sound. Reaching the platform... he found himself standing in front of a sealed furnace... with a window slot on it. Kneeling down, he looked inside... to the embers and raging fire within. Through it... something stared back at him. Somethings. Eyeless, burnt skulls... small and larger alike.

He heard the muffled cries of children inside the oven... and he drew back from it sharply, rising again, backing away. Turning, he saw a work bench, just off to the side of the furnace, on the platform. It was covered in rusty metal tools, a gramophone and implements... and why wouldn't they be rusty? They were all stained with blood. He could smell it... the rusty ozone in the air... but breathing drew in the heat as well... it was difficult to get much oxygen out of it. Whatever this place was, he couldn't imagine how anyone could live in it. He had smelled the putrid scent of death before and often... staining his clothes and his face... and somehow it was fouler here. A raspy, disembodied voice echoed around him then, in every direction. Above and below.

_"Ashleyyyy..."_

"Who said that? Who the hell is in here?"

There was a slow, purposeful scraping of metal on metal... behind him. He snapped his attention that way... but the scraping was above him now. North... south... east and west. Far and near. And then came a low, mirthless laugh... above... a figure in the shadows watching from the walkway overhead. A silhouette... of a figure in a hat... with a hand of blades. Again it scraped them on the, producing sparks, flying in every direction. Bursts of light in the dark, revealing a leering, feral grin... a maw of jagged teeth.

"_They were right... they always are. You are an idiot. And weak... powerless here. Vulnerable. You walked right into the most obvious trap. It required no effort on my part. None of the children were so gullible."_

"Yeah?", Ash retorted, brow raising. He wasn't about to let some burnt asshole call the shots. Run his mouth. Reaching down, he removed his glove, throwing it down... the metal gauntlet glinting in the fire and rusty light. Raising it he brandished an index finger the creature's way, in an automated whirring. Beckoning it down. "Stop hiding up there, come down here and say that again. Let's go."

The figure laughed again... and in a flash of the lights he stood directly in front of Ash. Ash jumped backwards in shock... as the flickering lights illuminated the creature. It's face was horrifically burnt with third degree burns... a pair of red, amber eyes flashed in the darkness malevolently, with it's malicious grin. Ash's heart beat quicker... contemplating fleeing... until he saw what it was wearing. A dirty brown fedora... shabby trousers... a cheap red and green Christmas sweater, and a crude, makeshift glove with knives set in the fingers. A piece of shit implement Ash could whip up in his sleep. Nothing like his own engineering creations. He laughed in the burnt man's ugly mug. All at once, recovering from the shock, Ash wasn't the least bit impressed with it. Or it's parlor tricks. It chuckled again as well, a dark sound trapped in it's throat, razor teeth scraping together.

"_Let's. I'm generous. You first."_

"What's that on your face?"

It was about to speak again when Ash lunged forward and slammed his gauntlet fist in it's mouth with all he had. He expected to wipe the grin off it's face, to shut it up, have it spitting those teeth and blood all over the platform. That was what should have happened. Instead it's head tilted back a bit... and it continued to laugh. Blow after blow landing, and not one of them effecting it. Slowly it tilted it's head with amusement his way... shriveled lips curling.

"_That was it? Are you fucking serious?"_

He struck it with both hands, boxed it in the gut... but he may as well have been punching a solid brick wall. His flesh hand ached with pain, knuckles bruised and cut up. Still he struck at it with his gauntlet, until it all became too much. Losing his energy a bit at a time... the intensifying heat making it worse. Sapping it all away. This wasn't right... not even the Deadites could withstand him. Somehow this thing was unmoved... it's power wasn't just tricks. Gasping for breath, Ash staggered backwards while it continued laughing at him... too exerted and angry to speak back to it. It spoke instead, raising a gloved hand and waving the index blade disapprovingly, tutting.

"_Worthless. Weak. Clumsy. Untrained. Unskilled. This is not your real world, where you are strong. Lucky to the point of madness. 'Promised One' 'Chosen One'. A thorn in the Dark Ones' sides. This is my domain, where you are nothing. I am the Nightmare Master. The eater of worlds. Even the lowliest Elm Street brats have posed more a threat. Now... I believe it was my turn."_

With a lazy swat of the back of his gloved hand, the thing slapped him in the face, sending Ash flying backwards before he could even think to dodge it. He may as well have struck him in the face with a rock. He slammed backwards against an overhead steam pipe, which hissed and spat. The world exploded around Ash, a red haze, as he landed in a heap face first on the metal walkway. His face was sticky... throbbing, his vision blurred. Ash crawled on the ground... tried to get up... seeing double, triple of the cackling thing looming over him. In the haze it grew longer... gigantic, massive long arms stretched out on either side... glove scraping against a pipe. And then he felt it's boot slam into his gut, knocking him back down and knocking all the air from his lungs. He gasped and retched, tried to rise... seizing on to a railing... tried to brace himself. As he struggled to regain his breath, lungs searing, it spoke all around him again.

"_Pathetic... 'Dream Hero'. Look at the whore and her mewling bastard's would be witless champion. Guardian's guardian... heh. More fool I. I actually expected more. No matter. I'll make better use of you than she. You and me have some work to do, Ashley... outside. Your body, my will... the world our playground."_

"No... thanks. Shared it before... and not talking in the fun way. Not doing... that again."

Ash muttered painfully, not understanding any of the lunatic's babble, especially not now. But getting a clear enough idea of what it entailed. Nothing good for him. While he was down, he snatched up his own glove and tucked it away in his pocket. Custom gloves to fit the gauntlet cost too damn much to discard. Slowly rising again with all his effort, forcing himself to ignore the pain... wincing, Ash started backing away from the clawed figure. Back down the walkway. Holding his side with his flesh hand... his gauntlet's knuckles risen, just in case. But it was a losing proposition. The thing was right... he was powerless here. Wherever the fuck 'here' was.

"We just met... buddy. I like to get to... know a lady first..."

"_Then let's get to know each other... you can get to know me right here... I'll show you things you wouldn't dream on your own. Would experience with no other."_

"Hard pass. If it's anything like this shit show."

Ash turned on his boot and ran away from the thing, as he heard it burst with mocking laughter and mirth again. Rasping and scraping it's finger blades on metal again. Ash ran from platform to platform... lower and higher... wherever an intersecting path was available. He may as well have been running in circles in the middle of nowhere. There were no doors to be found... just an entire world... of fire, heat, and rusty metal. Stretching out into eternity. An endless maze. A labyrinth, with not only metal walkways but brick stairwells rising impossibly against gravity, upside down and sideways. The endless corridors of an asylum, the walls lined with doors that locked up maniacs like the demon cackled behind. Gothic, religious architecture like that of a church or cathedral, crosses all around and among it. Like something designed by Geiger or M.C Escher on a bad acid trip. Each pathway leading to another ten... leading to twenty, leading to more. There was no end or direction in sight. All around him, the owner and master of this world spoke with amusement, satisfaction. Mocking him. The scrape of steel on steel just behind it's words.

"_Run, run... as fast as you can, Ashley. You plunge deeper into my Dream Core, no matter the direction you flee. We have an eternity... to explore what you fear. Your memories. I've only had a sample of what I'm cravin'."_

Ash ran down another walkway... to find himself on a precarious catwalk... dangling over a massive burning furnace below. A great chasm within the labyrinth. Like the core of a power plant, a pit with a swirling pool of molten metal below. The walkway ended in midair... and he had nearly reached the end of it when he froze on the spot. Rusty, flickering lights dangled impossibly over head, casting shadows along the walkway... and in each flicker, it came for him, from down in the distance. Scraping it's glove along railings and jutting steam pipes. Silhouette flitting along the walkway... flashing closer with each flicker. Yet moving gradually... it had all the time in the world. Tauntingly. For an instant, he was certain he saw the silhouette of three tendrils risen up and protruding from the monster's back... whipping back and forth... three pairs of glowing yellow eyes gleaming back at him in the darkness. Three gaping, empty maws opening on them. In the next instant the living shadows were gone, and the thing in the hat was still advancing.

"_No more playing games. You are mine. All mine. There are no exits down here, Ashley. Nowhere to hide from me. Not anymore. Nowhere to flee. "_

Ash tiredly raised his useless gauntlet, clenching it into a fist... readying himself for the inevitable. His options were to go down fighting it, or throw himself into the abyss of fire... and lose anyways. Either way it had him... it knew it... and he knew it. He felt the sweat of the furnace pouring down his face and back... and didn't know what to do. For all he had done, this wasn't something he was prepared for. The powerlessness. It wasn't right. He should have been able to beat seven shades of shit out of something that looked like it. He'd stomped all over uglier things than it.

Then there was a sudden echoing ringing, from off in the distance. At first he thought it was one more sound of the demon's realm... but the thing stopped at once in it's tracks, not far from him. It gave pause even to the monster... both of them looking at each other with bewilderment for a split second... and then around for the source of it. A ringing that was not part of this Nightmare World. It grew steadily louder... powerful... and all at once a flash of white light came with it behind him.

The light scorched the demon's arm, the sweater burning away partially there, revealing the burnt, pus oozing flesh beneath. It stepped back, just outside of the rays of light, raising it's arm and trying to peer through at the source. Ash, turning on his boot, heart pounding, did the same. A tall box had formed at the very end of the walkway. A white phone booth, with a ringing telephone within. A single bold, glowing word imprinted on top of it in red. Ash looked at it with as much incredulity as the demon thing, but recovered from it faster.

_**EXIT**_

"You sure about that?"

Ash, never one to miss his cue, turned and ran from the demon, ran towards the light. It didn't hurt him, burn him as it did the thing. It beckoned to him. Comforted him... with each ring of the phone. It's doors opened for him automatically, waving him closer. Yet before he could reach it, the thing lunged after him, seized him by the leg, forcing it's self to ignore the pain. Ash struggled with it, reaching down and punching it in the face with his gauntlet... effecting it now more than he had before. Blood trickled from it's nose and mouth lightly at the strikes. But it was enraged, furious, growing stronger even while it was weakened by the light. Ash gripped a section of the floor with both hands, struggling to hold on, to slow it down. It was in vain... the thing just got angrier, gradually pulling him backwards along the walkway... back towards the shadows, away from the light.

The demon roared with agony, his grip on Ash's leg slackening in it's throes. Something brilliantly blue peered out of the glass of the phone booth... as though through a looking glass. It narrowed upon him furiously. Letters formed on the front of the phone booth, then, grew and brightened. Shining more powerful, painful heavenly light down on the demon. Shrinking the shadows and expanding the illumination.

**Hi Freddy. Get The FUCK Away From Him NEEDLE DICK!**

"_You."_

"Well, I don't know about _you_, but that sign _definitely_ is for _me_."

"_The cowardly little cunt finally takes notice..."_, The burnt, demonic thing ignored Ash, growling at the illuminated phone booth... wincing through the pain, jagged, yellowed, rotting teeth gnashing together. Ravenous frothing escaping his husk-like lips. It's eyes began to shine and burn redder... as the shadows around it struggled harder against the encroaching light. Spitting out every word with venom. _"No... not yet, bitch. It's too early. Lover boy stays right here with me. With the others you neglected along with your duties. Go back to Wonderland, Alice... or come in and get him yourself. Get your hands dirty again. My whore mother can't protect you or your bastard spawn this time."_

It's pained grin deepened with malevolence back at the phone booth. With the thing's grip slackened, distracted by it's incomprehensible, pulsating rage, Ash turned over on his back, knocking aside it's arm. Ash drew back his boot and kicked it in the head, knocking it's hat to the floor of the walkway. Some impulse, perhaps a madness in Ash made him grab the hat with his bare hand, and take it with a laugh. The demon recoiled in pain under the blow, unlike before... and Ash scrambled to his feet... the demon doing the same. It swiped out at him, narrowly missing, forced it's self to billow through the pain of the curtain of light... sweater and pants burning away to nothing... only it's glove remained. Ash caught a glimpse back over his shoulder as he fled to the phone booth, and it wasn't pretty. He shouted back at the thing over his shoulder.

"Nevermind! I _do_ know!"

More than he had wanted to. But it was what was on the demon's midsection that disturbed him even more. Dozens of screaming, writhing faces... of children and teenagers alike. Flesh rippling and pulsating as though it were ready to burst. A massacre, sealed away within his burnt flesh. Fueling him... making his eyes glow... letting him keep defying even the agony of the white light. He didn't know if it wanted him that same way... what it wanted of him... but he didn't want to find out. Reaching the interior of the phone booth the door slammed automatically behind him, the demon slamming against it. The ringing was louder now, echoing all around him... protecting him, like a shield... the phone booth was the shield, it's aura of white light still radiating. Embracing him... like a pair of tender, comforting arms.

Looking back through the glass, he met it's burning red eyes. Unceremoniously, Ash pressed the middle finger of his gauntlet right up against the glass in the thing's burnt, enraged face. Rubbing it slowly.

"Sorry asshole. Occupied."

Ash picked up the ringing phone, turning his back to the demon. Just as he pressed it to his ear... he heard a bursting of glass... felt something run down his back... and heard it's screams of rage. Every obscenity in the book and then some. He was pulled far away from it's reach... in an instant somewhere else. Somewhere far away. As far away as one could get from their nightmares. Into a rushing torrent of blinding white light... comfort... and warmth that did not burn. And he swore he could smell the aroma of coffee... bacon, and syrup there. Music he couldn't quite make out humming in the distance. Strangely familiar though. Inviting.

Ash woke with a gasping start to find himself still inside the Delta... parked out in front of the Springwood Hotel. It's neon signs shining down at him. It took him a moment to realize that. He looked around, out the windows... to the mostly desolate Springwood streets. Another car zipping past now and again. He looked up to the stars in the skies... and knew he was back. He was exactly as he had been before. Well... not exactly. He was heated, as though he had just actually fled a boiler room... and felt himself soaked through with sweat.

He dared to breath... to recognize it had just been a nightmare... a vivid... disturbing one. But he was awake now... alive. All the same. A dream... nothing more. The ringing was much closer now... emanating from his coat pocket. Heart pounding, wiping his sweat soaked forehead, he reached in for it and drew it out. Flipping it open and hitting the button... a smile breaking out on his face. Relief coursing like the adrenaline in his veins, he laughed with pleasure.

"Jenny... baby, glad you called back. You just saved me from... one hell of a nightmare. Sorry for hanging up... before. You have no idea... how close it was."

"_I might have an inkling, Mr Williams."_, Said another woman's calm, slightly amused voice on the other side of the line. Distantly familiar, through the clashing haze of his tiredness and mirth. _"I'm just glad I reached you in time."_

Ash paused on the line... trying to recover from his excitement. And figure out who she was. His mind was racing a mile a minute... he tried to force himself to relax.

"Uh... this is Red... isn't it?", Ash asked at last... her pale face, red hair... her smile gradually returning to him. Her eyes most vividly of all. The way they had looked at him. And her son, the cool kid who drew. He spoke up again, feigning casualness. "Hey doll, how you doing?"

"_Tired, like you... but I was up. And I thought you might need me. You sound like you just ran a marathon, Mr Williams."_

"I think I did.", Ash replied, pressing his head back against the headrest, shutting his eyes tightly. Still trying to gather himself. "Hey, I like hearing 'Mr Williams' from that voice... but you can call me Ash."

"_Not Ashley? Alright, Ash it is.", _The young woman returned with that same flicker of amusement. Though there was something like relief hidden just behind it... unless his mind was playing tricks again. _"My name is Alice Johnson. I'd have introduced myself back before, but didn't get the chance. You were in and out before I could."_

"Probably the first time I've had a lady tell me that. So... what's a girl like you with a kid doing up this early in the morning? I was expecting you to call of course... just uh, not at this hour."

"_Triple shift. I'm still down here at the diner."_

"Jesus, and I thought they were overworking me at S-Mart.", Ash muttered, opening his eyes and looking to the clock on the dashboard. Only a few minutes had passed since he fell asleep... despite how long it had felt, it was still past one in the morning. "You have to do that often?"

"_Just for tonight, scheduling screw up. Management. Funny you should meet me today of all times. Listen... you sound like you've been through hell, Ash."_

"You have no idea, Red."

"_You might be surprised by what I know. Would you like some friendly company... to talk about it? Come swing by the diner again. I'll even make you a pot of coffee. Pretty much nobody else is here at this hour. We'll have some privacy this time. Unless Anne wants to eavesdrop."_

"Privacy, huh?", Ash felt himself smirk against the phone at her welcome proposal. Though playing a bit coy. "Hmm... I dunno. Would this count as a first date?"

"_Yes. If you want it to. You're confident. Know who you are. I like that."_

"No playing hard to get with me? Most women your age do."

"_Most women my age aren't me. No. I'll just be me. You be you. We'll see where that goes. My friends gave me a hard time about it, but I kept your card, didn't I?"_

"Fair enough. Alright doll, I'm on my way. Fire up that coffee and keep the home fires burning until I get there."

"_I will. And Ash?'_

"Yeah, Red?"

"_Drive carefully. And whatever you do, don't fall asleep. No matter what. For me. Do you understand?"_

There was something more serious and older in her voice, then. Something he couldn't help taking just as seriously. He nodded to himself against the phone, remembering the boiler room. The monster lurking in it. It wasn't real, but it had been the most vivid, realistic dream he'd ever experienced. He was not nearly as tired as he had been anymore.

"Yeah. No worries. I'm not in the mood to sleep anymore. I don't want to go back _there_ again."

"_I'll make sure you don't. Not unprepared. Not alone.", _She answered him cryptically, pausing for a moment._"I'll see you shortly, then."_

"Count on it, doll."

Ash turned off the phone, flipped it shut and tucked it away in one fluent motion. Resting both hands on the wheel... gripping it tightly with a whirring of his gauntlet. He shook his head, trying to shake away the lingering tendrils of exhaustion. Some of the fog in his mind cleared... enough for another sensation to form. A stinging spiking in his right hand. Glancing down on it... he found the knuckles bloodied, bruised and split up with deep cuts.

"What the hell?"

He turned on the car light, looking it over... all the bruises and the cuts... blood lightly trickling from the knuckles. With each moment, the adrenaline was dying down... and the soreness was spreading. Not just his hand... but his head, chest, stomach and back. Aches that sure as hell weren't age related. He flipped out the mirror and looked in it... to find himself with a deep cut... a split in his upper and lower lip and one across his forehead. A long cut along his right cheek... and bruises were already forming all over.

Slowly, he closed up the mirror on his bruised, bloody face, wincing, and opened the car door, stepping outside to the pavement into the cold air. The sudden rush of it was refreshing... helped bring down the heat... but not the pounding of his heart, or the tendrils of exhaustion. Turning back around, he looked to his vacated car seat... to find something had been resting there under his ass. Slowly he reached down for it, picking it up and looking it over in the light. There was no mistaking what it was.

"Fuck me."

A dirty, crumpled brown fedora rested in his hand. Exactly as it had in his nightmare. He looked inside, to find a faded name written within.

_Frederick Charles Krueger_

Ash stared at it for a long moment... only a passing car brought him back. He acted on instinct, following Alice's last instruction. Jamming the hat into his coat pocket. But as he did so his hand brushed something else in there, harder. He withdrew it, to find the pair of sunglasses he'd lifted from the gay teen's bedroom. He turned them over, examining them... and put them on, resisting the blind of the streetlights. It was about that time he realized his gauntlet was exposed... he wasn't wearing his glove... he had taken it off in the nightmare. Put it in his pocket before he'd fled, he remembered. Searching his other pocket, he found it... stared at it blankly through the dream sunglasses.

Yeah. He was really going to need that drink after all.

Putting the long glove back on over his hand and the gauntlet below, tucking it into his sleeve, he opened the back door of the Delta, leaned inside and scrambled around back there for one of his suitcases... the right one. Popping it open he retrieved the flask inside and unscrewed the cap, taking a deep drink of the bourbon within. Road fuel, just in case. In an instant the alcohol swirled through his veins and jolted him awake and alert. At least as long as he didn't finish the whole flask. Long enough to get to the diner, hopefully.

"Woah baby."

Screwing the cap back on he tucked it away in his other coat pocket, closed up the suitcase and slammed the door. He went back around and climbed into the driver's seat, closing the door as well. He unrolled the window, the breeze filling the car refreshingly, the cold air striking his face. Firing up the Classic, he turned on the AC as well just to be safe... buckling up and turning on the radio. Cranking up the Alice Cooper, the familiar tune starting up, a song about a man behind a mask. As soon as he did, Ash threw it in drive and pealed away from the Springwood Hotel. Turning the Classic around and roaring down the mostly empty road.

Ash sang along with the entire song, drumming his fingers on the wheel, keeping his eyes alert and focused on the road. Willing himself to keep any exhaustion at bay. There were tiny tendrils of it now and again, threatening to pull him back, but he forced them back each time they crept closer. He kept the diner in his mind's eye... her in his mind. Someone waiting for him. The only person in this town he'd really met. Forced himself not to think about the hat in his pocket and who it had come from. He tried anyways, really tried. As much as he wanted to get to the diner, he remembered to slow down a bit. To focus on the road and keeping himself alert.

* * *

About a half hour after one, he found Shaye Boulevard again and turned on to it. This time there was plenty of parking space that there hadn't been in the day. The glowing red lights of the diner's name beckoned to him like the Exit sign had. He pulled right up to the curb in front of the Crave Inn, and turned off the Delta, rolling up the window hurriedly and jumping out, locking her up. Turning on the sidewalk, he moved quickly towards the beckoning doors of the diner... pushing through them amid a ringing of a bell... stepping into the warmth and shutting out the cold. Stepping into the welcome, familiar aroma's of the place. Lingering by the doorway, he looked around the familiar interior... it was silent, with only a few late night customers sitting in corner booths, minding their own business. Eyes flickering his way, taking note of his injured features, and snapping back when he caught them staring.

Looking down past the silent jukebox and to the counter... there the young woman stood behind it. Waiting for him. Still in her white uniform and apron... long red hair tied back, shorter, nearly trimmed bangs... standing like a welcome beacon. Holding up a pot of coffee and smiling his way. That was all the motivation he needed. Moving forward he passed through the diner, moving up towards the counter, reaching it just as she poured him a cup and pushed it in front of him. He removed his sunglasses, folded them and tucked them away in his coat.

"Sunglasses at night? Do I need to ask why?"

"So I can, doll. So I can."

She looked at him expectantly, with her pretty, pale, freckled face. Those striking, big blue eyes. Displaying no sign of alarm or surprise at his cut up, bruised face. Just a touch of concern. As he picked up the cup, he glanced to the counter, to find a medical kit resting atop it as well. At once, she circled around the counter as he took a seat. Reaching him, she set a hand on his shoulder, looking down at his back.

"Your jacket was torn."

He felt her tracing the cuts with four spread fingers. Down along the back of his coat, pressing against his shirt beneath, before stopping, remaining there. The clawed, gloved hand flashed in his memory again. The breaking of glass behind him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck and arms start to stand up. Muttering to himself under his breath.

"Fuck."

Until her soothing, firm voice brought him out of the reverie.

"It's ok. Drink up. No sense letting it get cold."

There was something reassuring and steady in her voice that he listened to. Ash nodded, letting it go. Picking up the cup, he took a deep drink from the beverage. It took all he had not to spit the hot liquid all over the counter. Swallowing it with a displeased grunt and a cough. He certainly wouldn't need to add anything from his flask to it.

"Jesus, Red. Is this coffee or battery acid? Spike it with something a little extra just for the truckers?"

"Take it up with the management. The place's one fatal flaw. Good food, bad coffee... but it'll keep you awake.", She answered him smoothly, taking the seat beside him and spinning him around to face her. Leaning in and examining the cuts. "That's all that matters right now. Be a good boy, hold still and let me take a look at you."

"Won't hear any complaints from me. Get as big an eyeful as you want."

She did just that. Looking between his face, and to his injured hand resting on the counter. Raising her hand to his chin, she gently tilted his head from side to side, looking over the bruises. He was tempted to touch her back, but remained still, keeping his hand where it was. Clearing his throat and speaking again confidently.

"Still handsome enough for you, doll?"

"Yes. I think so. But these cuts and bruises don't look good."

"You should see the other guy."

That made her smile, even through her visible concern. Visibly suppressing a laugh, pretty face contorting a bit. He liked seeing that on her. And even more causing it. He remembered her name again from over the phone, and was struck by another thought.

"Johnson... I have a neighbor named Vivian Johnson. Nice lady, helps me out quite a bit. She in your family?"

"I'd have to ask my father. But nothing would surprise me. I stopped believing in things like coincidences a long time ago."

Unzipping the medical bag she took out some white strips of band aids, a small bottle of antiseptic and a some bigger bandages. Unscrewing the top of the antiseptic, pouring some of it into the cap, her eyes returned to his.

"So... who's _Jenny_?"

"Long story. Well... not really. Co worker of mine. Sort of a casual relationship there. Nothing serious. Told her that from the start... but she's getting attached. Not that I can blame her."

She poured the antiseptic on to his knuckles without warning. He jumped a bit in his seat and hissed slightly with a wince at the thrill of the pain. Once it had gone down, she gently wiped the wounds, cleaning them, eyes meeting his again thoughtfully.

"Not big on commitment, are you?"

"I know how I look, Red. Like I have a big flashing neon sign over my head saying that. And a few other warning signs."

"Is it true? Or an act?"

"I can come around. Just need some freedom... I tend to cause problems for a woman when I get attached anyways. Make life worse for her. Kind of a screw up. In my experience I'm more of a short term thrill. Not good to someone for much else. Not since... well... not anymore, at least."

"You're good with kids though. That isn't easy, or common with a man like you.", Alice observed thoughtfully, having listened to him steadily. She began to expertly bandage his hand, wrapping it carefully. "Jacob. He was taken with you. He isn't like that with any other men. Not even my dad. Have any kids yourself?"

"Not that I know of. I have a few talents up my sleeves, when I need them.", Ash replied casually, remembering Cheryl. Helping bring her up as their mother hadn't. Not that there had been much of a choice. He'd done the best he could as a brother... even then it hadn't been enough when it mattered most. "It's not hard though, seemed like a good kid. Strong head on his shoulders."

"He does. It's just the two of us most of the time. But we live with Yvonne, and my dad is very much a part of his life. He's smart... I think he knows he has to be strong. How much I depend on him to be... even at five. It hasn't been easy... but nothing worthwhile in life is."

Alice was quiet again for a long moment... though there was nothing uncomfortable about it for Ash. It was a rarity when he could just sit with someone and enjoy a silence. Share it with them. Nothing always needed to be said. Finishing up bandaging his hand, she turned her attention back to his face, leaning forward to gently apply antiseptic to his cheek, forehead and to his lips. It stung again, but not as bad as before. And her touch was soothing. When she did speak up again, it was with a touch of teasing.

"Speaking of parenting... why 'Ashley' for such a big strong man?"

"Figured you'd want to get that one out of the way early.", Ash shook his head, forcing himself to swallow another sip of coffee when her hand retracted for a moment. Taking a low breath, and his time with it. "Well you see, my old man has a real mean sense of humor. Probably thought it would toughen me up, that he was doing me a favor."

"Did it?"

"Sure. Get beat up that many times in the school yard, you'll toughen up real quick. Just to make sure it stuck, he made my middle name Joanna. Not the fairest thing to do with your son, when your own dad had the decency to name you Brock."

She looked up at him sympathetically... fingers rubbing his cheek gently... but when he uttered a laugh about it, she let herself smile as well. Shaking her head slowly. Ash closed his eyes, enjoying her touch as she applied the small bandage strips to each the cuts... but was careful not to drift off. When he opened them again, her intoxicating blue eyes were staring back at him. He smiled back, ignoring the pain it caused him. Not feeling it as much when he looked at her.

"Some first date, huh Red?"

"Oh I don't know. It's not over yet. And it could have began far worse."

"You're older than you look... aren't you? I saw that the first time I came in. Your eyes. Seen more than most. More than most people should."

"Yes. So have you. Even if you hide it behind that swaggering bravado."

"But it is _sexy_ swaggering bravado at least, isn't it?"

She laughed at that quietly, but she didn't contradict him. Her fingers settled back on his lips again... rubbing them soothingly once more... before trailing away. Leaning back a bit into her chair, she gathered up all the medical things and put them back in the bag. He looked across the counter to the mirror on the other side of it, looking himself over. Raising his hand and examining the bandages... satisfied smile forming, looking back at her again. Watching as she rose, picked up the medical bag and circled back around the counter behind it again. Stowing it in one of the drawers. When she rose again her brilliant blue eyes met him again. And he inclined his head.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Anytime, Ash."

"Careful. I'll hold you to that."

Smiling unashamedly, she took a seat behind the counter, directly facing him. Looking very seriously back at him, studying every detail of his face, resting her hands on the counter. Her lips pursed slightly... and after a long moment, she spoke again. Tone calm and assured. Rock solid. Another woman entirely in an instant.

"Tell me about your nightmare."

He wasn't sure what it was about her... ordinarily he would have hemmed and hawed his way out of such a request. Find some way out. It was different with her. She wanted to know, and it mattered that she know. And... he wanted to tell her. So he told it all, or most of it at least, taking his time. Told her about his attempts to find a place to stay cheap. Trying and being unable to sleep in his car. Going exploring again... finding Elm Street and the Bed And Breakfast on it. The strange little girls in white skipping rope outside, their nursery rhyme.

The old... 'lady' who had owned the place. The gay bedroom he'd tried to get some sleep in. The growing, unbearable heat. His trip down the stairs and into some godforsaken boiler room world. The gloved monster with the hat and sweater toying with him. How he'd been unable to hurt it, or flee from it. How it had cornered him... and the telephone booth with the light that had saved him. All the while she kept her expression carefully controlled and neutral. Giving away nothing. Attentively listening to all of it, as he came to a close.

"I know how crazy all that sounds... but does any of it sound familiar?"

"Other than the gay bedroom? Yes. You took something with you. Out of your dream. You thought you were crazy... but it's real. Show me."

Ash hesitated. He hadn't told her about that part... taking things with him out of the dream. How the hell had she known? He also hesitated because he wasn't sure if he should show her the sunglasses, or the hat. He settled for the hat, removing it from his coat pocket and unfolding it out on the counter, dropping it before her. A flicker of something passed over her calm face like a ripple, and then it was gone. Nodding to herself slightly. Reaching down she looked inside it, as he had done, to the name within. Her red lips tightening visibly. When she was done, she handed the hat back to him, and he tucked it away again, resting his hands on the counter, leaning forward, as she was.

"What, are you psychic or something?"

"Or something.", Alice echoed quietly with a ghost of a smile. She thought about something deeply for a moment, before deciding, and speaking again. "If I showed you that house in your nightmare again... 1428 Elm Street... would you recognize it?"

"Yeah. If it were real. Stood out a mile away."

"Would you like to learn about your nightmare? More about my world? How you were able to take that with you? The monster that chased you? Springwood's dirty little secret?"

"Yeah. I think I would."

"Are you sure? This is your only chance to back out. To run back to Detroit, to Jenny. Once we do this, it's settled. I want you to understand that you have a choice, here. A choice I didn't have."

"I've seen plenty of spooky shit in my time, Red.", Ash answered seriously without a moment's hesitation. He met the young woman's hard stare. "More than you'd probably believe. Try me."

"Wait here just a minute, then." She smiled again at last with a slight nod, visibly satisfied. A little pleased even. "I'll be back."

Hand brushing over his bandaged one, she stood up and went into the back of the diner. He watched her go... and rose his cup again, drinking from the coffee. Another sharp jolt of his senses... but he was starting to believe it was necessary. The prospect of sleep was not a welcome one. Even less welcome than sub par coffee. He heard Alice's voice murmuring in the back, and the louder voice of another girl arguing with her.

He smiled a crooked smile, raising a brow. Until she came out again with her apron removed and a black leather coat wrapped around her long white uniform to replace it. Removing her hair band and shaking out her long, fiery strands. He felt his sore lips parting unconsciously. It looked good on her... she wore it well, like it belonged there. It seemed like one redhead went in the back, and another one came back. The other familiar waitress she had been arguing with came out of the back on her heels, both of them moving behind the counter, Alice bending to fetch something.

"I don't have time to debate this with you, Annie. I'll make it up to you somehow. This is an emergency. A matter of life and death."

"What? Getting laid? By _him_? Not so much. How can't _that_ wait at least until eight?"

"You'd be surprised, lady."

"Didn't ask for details, Danny Zuko.", The waitress shot back, glancing between him and her friend and throwing up her hands with exasperation. "You owe me big time for this, Alice."

"Come on.", Alice insisted to him as she came out from around the counter, a folded newspaper in one hand, grabbing him by the bandaged hand with the other and tugging him clear out of his seat. Fingers intertwining through his. "We're in a hurry."

"Where we going?"

"I'm driving."

"What about my coffee?"

"I make better coffee than that shit at home. Don't worry."

"Now you're speaking my language, Sandy."

With his free, gloved hand he snapped a finger gun and wink back at Anne behind the counter. The curly haired blonde visibly rolling her eyes as Alice dragged him past the jukebox and to the doors. Pushing through the doors the redhead pulled him out on to the sidewalk. The doors closed behind them as she drew him over to the Delta. With his free hand he tossed her the keys when she reached the door, withdrawing from her grip as she caught them and circling around to the passenger side as she unlocked the door.

Climbing inside, she closed the door and leaned over to unlock his. After getting in and closing the door, she buckled up and he did the same, looking over at her with a smile. Watching her put the key in the ignition, but not start it. She took the time to look around the interior of the Delta... and into the back seat with his suitcases and clutter, before she caught his gaze and looked back at him.

"This car looks like it could use a woman's touch."

"Ever handle one of these babies?"

"No."

"Figured. Young people. Well, practice makes perfect. Ever crash any cars?"

"Yes. A truck. But to my credit I was trying to run over a bastard who deserved it."

"Admirable. But don't you be getting a single scratch on this one."

"Your pride and joy, huh?"

"Well she's a classic, just go easy, alright? She's been through a lot. Had to put plenty of work into her over the years. My old man got her for me from the Elk Grove Destruction Derby. Maybe to make up for that name thing. Never asked."

"Don't worry. I know all about boys and their cars."

With a smile of her own, she started her up. The Oldsmobile purred to life and roared. And with it, the radio as well, with _Iron Butterfly_. The redhead's hand reached to turn it off, but Ash's hand came up and stopped her.

"You kidding? This is a classic too. Leave it on, pretty lady."

"It'll help us stay awake, at least.", Alice admitted with a shrug when Ash retracted his touch. Instead she turned up the volume, before settling her hand back on the steering wheel. "Your car, your rules."

"Good girl."

"Mine is no falling asleep. Got that?"

"Yes Ma'am."

Ash snapped her a mock salute and a wink. Putting her in drive, Alice pulled them away from the curb of the Crave Inn, turning off Shaye Boulevard and down it, picking up speed. She tore up this street and that... navigating the Classic well enough... more careful than he was, at least. And she knew the neighborhoods and every inch of the town. It was a bit of a relief to be able to lean back and be in the passenger seat for once. It'd be easy to fall asleep, under different circumstances.

He watched their surroundings, tapped to the music... and caught a glance of her now and again. And caught her glancing at him... though he tried to keep her from noticing. And had the feeling she was trying to do the same. The leather coat plus the car suited her alright. The her, beneath the waitress and single mother. The song was still playing by the time they reached the suburbs... the long version. Psychedelic instrumental after instrumental. It was about the time they turned on to a familiar road with a familiar sign, that Ash sat up straight, eyes widening as they passed it by.

_**Elm Street**_

"Any of this ringing a bell yet?", Alice asked mildly, glancing his way and then back to the road. Nodding ahead. "Just down here."

Ash said nothing... watching house after house pass by on both sides, illuminated in the headlights and streetlights. Each of them looking as they had in the dream. Right down to the lawns, ornaments, every detail. All of them perfect. All except the Bed and Breakfast. The last house on the left. The street light outside it was burnt out. No giant sign poked up from the front lawn, beckoning them with light and comforting words. A smaller one sat out front though, with faded but visible lettering.

_1428 Elm Street_

Because it was never a Bed and Breakfast in the first place. Alice stopped them at the curb exactly where he had parked in the dream. But left the car idling. Together, the two of them peered up at the house and the messy, overgrown front lawn, untrimmed trees and shrubs around it. No little girls skipped rope and sang creepy nursery rhymes out on the front lawn... he had the feeling the only kids who came here did so to dare their friends. Especially around Halloween. It was the house he had seen, but something else entirely. Old wood and iron bars were plastered all over the windows and the red front door. The entire thing was run down, with faded, chipped white paint and broken sections. It had vegetation growths at various points, weeds overrunning the base of a good portion of the abandoned house. But there was no mistaking what it was. Alice's voice brought him back, as she looked his way again.

"Is that the house from your nightmare?"

"Yeah... and no. It wasn't dilapidated."

"Of course not. You wouldn't have been foolish enough to go inside otherwise, I hope, if it looked the way it does in the real world. This place has a history... an important portion of all... _this_, happened here. It was important enough for _him_ to make it his house in the Dream World. Or at least, absorb the appearance of it. Sentimental, sick bastard, maybe. Serial killers keep trophies. Countless other dreamers have seen this place in Springwood... everyone knows it's important. Nobody will touch it or buy up the property. The neighbors won't even acknowledge it exists on their street. The Thompson's and the Walsh's were the last ones to live here. It's been empty like this since 1985."

Dream World. She casually used the term and spoke with complete knowledge. Whatever was going on in Springwood, the redhead was up to her neck in it, and he was getting there fast. He didn't understand any of it, and had the feeling he didn't want to. But she'd offered him the chance to back out, and he was committed. He didn't do things halfway when he agreed. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't morbidly interested. At last, he slowly nodded.

"I have a double barrel and chainsaw in the trunk. Is this the part where we have to get out of the car and search around the old, creepy, abandoned, haunted house? Make disturbing discoveries? Get attacked by monsters and have to chop them to pieces?"

Alice looked back away from the house and to Ash. Meeting his steady look. Incredulity and amusement crossing her face and voice.

"_Fuck_ no. This is the part where we get the hell out of here. Everything else you need to know is back at my place. I hope you're ready. You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. This is Springwood."

"My kind of woman. Gun it, Red."

Returning his pleased smile, she did exactly that. The Classic pealed away from the curb of 1428 Elm Street. She spun them around and roared back down the road they had come from. Putting distance between them and the creepy house each second. He felt a growing relief as they departed Elm Street entirely... but it was offset by another anticipation. They may have been driving away from the place... but they drove together deeper into a growing nightmare. And he had an uneasy feeling that even the house back there would prove safer than what was coming.


	5. The Dream Master II

Alice couldn't repress a smile as they drove on to her home, listening to Ash sing along with all the songs the whole way. The man couldn't carry a tune in a wheelbarrow, but the way he attempted to sing about being hungry like a wolf, with such confidence, was endearing. Now and again she stole glances of him... and was certain he was doing the same, nearly catching him a couple times. As it had been before, there was something about the way he looked at her that did something to her. Put her at ease and excited her at the same time. For all his bluster and swagger, perhaps some foolishness, he was genuine at his core. What he was. He wasn't a man of deception where it counted, what you saw was what you got. Not that there wasn't necessarily something more in there he was keeping to himself.

He was a good guy. Brave. That had been true of what she had seen of him in the tail end of his nightmare, and in the real world alike. For all the rugged masculinity, the loud voice, he was also a geek at heart. Maybe more so than Mark had been. And deep down he must have known it too. She had been pleased by his agreement to come along and learn more... he didn't lack for boldness.. but she hoped he could handle it. Whatever his experiences, this would surely be something entirely new to him. Amanda would not have told them he was coming for no reason... in a way this was new to her as well. She felt some of the old excitement, as she had when she had become the Dream Master. A new mystery, sent straight to her. For her to unravel.

For all she could do, there were things about the Dream World she didn't know or understand yet. Not at all helped by remaining so often in her own dreams. There was more to the Dream World, perhaps than she could fathom, it's innermost workings. She wondered what his role in it was, and in relation to her and Jacob. If he had any at all genuine experience in this realm... and how he would react to it. In spite of her growing fear at Krueger's return... her guilt over her failure to prepare... it was tempered by her experience... she had defeated him twice, and he had feared another confrontation all this time, despite how powerful he was becoming. And it was tempered by _him_. His arrival. Maybe it was the Debbie and Rick in her, or maybe his confidence and personality were just intoxicating. Probably a bit of both.

Through their connection, she knew Jacob was sound asleep right now... dreaming peaceful dreams. Protected by her from afar. Though Krueger had begun a rampage against the other Springwood teenagers and children of the Dream World, regrowing his old strength, he was deliberately avoiding Jacob. And why shouldn't he? After what had happened to him the last time he had tried to corrupt Jacob. He was a coward... a dangerous, murderous coward... in life and in death. In dreams and nightmares. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Maybe that was also true in death and dreams... maybe you just became more yourself than you were in life.

When she had intervened in Ash's nightmare, Krueger, between insults, had told her Amanda couldn't protect them any longer... she didn't understand... except perhaps she was unable to do so directly. Confront her bastard son again like before. Even after Yvonne had set her free, for some reason she lingered... somewhere in the land of dreams. She must have known she would be needed again... Krueger had managed to flee her courageous attempts to contain him. His evil. She lingered beyond both death and release just to watch over her and Jacob... and this startling, strange man named Ash.

Not very long after two in the morning, Alice pulled the Delta up the driveway of home at last, putting it in park and turning it off. The radio with it, as Ash was mid song. Mouth still open, he looked at the radio and her with mock outrage.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!"

"We're here.", She informed him with a smirk, passing him the keys and reaching for the folded newspaper on the seat. Opening the door she stepped out on to the pavement and leaned back down to look at him. "Come on. I promised you a decent pot of coffee, didn't I?"

"Woman of your word. Another check mark. Keep it up and you'll be a real keeper."

"You have no idea."

Rising up again, more than a little pleased, she locked and closed the door firmly. On the other side Ash climbed out of the Delta and did the same. Standing up and looking up at the house, and the other houses running along each side of the street. Illuminated in the streetlight, starlight and moonlight. He uttered a low, impressive whistle, looking back her way.

"Not a bad place or neighborhood for a waitress."

"Me and Yvonne are renting it together, she's a nurse and swimming instructor, part time at the diner as well. We managed to get a good deal, and dad helps when need be. Hasn't been easy... but you can only do your best. I needed to get away from the family house for awhile... too many old memories. Not that they haven't followed me... that I haven't lapsed and let them follow me."

"It's all good. I haven't been home in over a decade. At least you stayed in Springwood."

"I'm not sure if I had a choice, the more I think about it. Come on."

With a gesture, Alice led the way up the driveway and to the stairs ascending them with Ash in close pursuit. Reaching the top of the illuminated stairs, she reached into her pocket for the key, but the door unlocked and opened on it's own. A tired looking Yvonne standing within dressed in a robe and looking back at her through the screen door.

"There you are, girl. About damn time. I was wondering when you'd cut out of work.", Yvonne breathed with relief, opening the screen door for her and stepping back. At once Alice stepped inside, taking off her shoes and tucking them away off to the side. "Jacob's sleeping, there were no disturbances. Did your handsome idiot finally manage to show up in his tan 1973 chariot?"

When she looked back to the doorway Ash was standing on the front stoop, hand pressed against the side of the house. Leaning, with a broad grin on his bruised, band aid covered face. Looking Yvonne over slowly, in no particular hurry.

"In the flesh, and in your dreams. Morning, Nurse. I think I'm overdue for my appointment. Sponge bath, even."

"A little early in the morning, isn't it Kenickie? Honey, you look like you've been hit by a bus."

"Laugh it up, pretty lady. I know you're still looking."

"Mmmhm. Not surprised you turned up. It _is_ the year of the Dog."

"I'm a Cock though."

"You're telling me."

"Let him in, Yvonne. The sooner we get this over with, the better. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

Yvonne sighed and reluctantly obeyed, standing aside for Ash to enter, locking the door again as the man removed his boots, revealing a pair of blue socks beneath. Alice immediately moved past the living room and made for Jacob's bedroom down the hall. Going in silently, she checked up on him, her hand rubbing through his hair soothingly. He remained fast asleep... peacefully and content, in his own dreams. His safe place. As she had known he was already. Still... actually seeing him like this made the entire day worth it. Leaning down, she kissed his head, tucking the covers over him more snugly.

Going back to the door, she closed it again gently. She went back out into the kitchen and living room to find Ash looking the place over, and Yvonne with her arms folded, looking none too impressed. Alice smiled a bit at the sight of them, and then made her way over to the refrigerator. She set the newspaper down on the kitchen table. Reaching into her front pocket of her uniform, she took the time to unfold Jacob's drawing carefully... studying it again, before putting a magnet on it and sticking it to the fridge.

She looked again between the 'Dream Hero', and back to Ash, as he chuckled a bit to himself looking over the place, making mostly one sided small talk and flirtation with an increasingly exasperated Yvonne. If he was the Dream Hero... he wasn't at all what the average person would expect. But then again... how likely had it been that a shy waitress with her head in the clouds should be the Dream Master? Where even Kristen and Nancy hadn't been? The thought heartened her a bit. Duty... destiny... often didn't come where it was most expected. She did not wish a role upon him that he might not have wanted... as it had been thrust upon her... but the idea there might be another out there like her... and that he should be here now... was strangely relieving. Maybe misery could have some company. She made her way back out to the living room, and at once him and Yvonne looked up at her as she drew near.

"Ash. My bedroom. Let's go."

"A little fast, even for me. What, no coffee, Red?"

"After."

"Who am I to rush a lady? Your house, your rules. Lead the way."

Grabbing him by the wrist, making eye contact with Yvonne who rolled hers, she did exactly that, leading Ash through the house, down the hall and to her room. Opening it up, stepping inside and turning on the lights. Yvonne brought up the rear as they moved inside, closing the door behind them. Standing silently at the door with her arms remaining folded, observing it all. While Ash studied the bedroom, Alice went straight to the closet, opening it up and removing Debbie's coat, hanging it up on the rack within. Then she began rummaging around inside for the box. Behind her Ash began to move about the room, examining it, past her and the bed, going around to the bedside table. Within moments his amused voice spoke up again.

"Hey, who's the major league hunk?"

Alice looked up sharply from the closet... to find Ash holding one of the framed pictures. Dan's handsome face smiled back at her and Ash... tall and broad shouldered... wearing his Springwood High Letterman jacket. His wavy, brown hair shifted a bit in the wind. Brown eyes alive with life... caught forever in an instant. As he was in her dreams. Somewhere he could never be hurt again.

"Dan." She answered slowly, finally. Breathing quietly. "Jacob's father."

"Dan the Man huh? Figured you were a jock loving kind of girl.", Ash merely grinned over at her, not noticing her quietness. He looked at the framed photograph again and set it back down on the bedside table with the others. Glancing back between her and Yvonne. "I'll have you ladies know I was Elk Grove High's top quarterback. Same with Michigan State University. My best buddy Scotty on the other hand was always kind of a nerd. Went and got himself an engineering degree instead. All the good that did him."

On that sudden note, Ash examined all the other pictures... family pictures and those of all her friends alike, picking them up to look over. Rick and her. Them with their mother. Graduation pictures. Yvonne looked at her with silent incredulity at Ash's unashamed nonchalance. Alice watched him do so for a long moment... she should have felt like it was an invasion... but it didn't. Not only because she had chosen to bring him here... but she didn't feel a threat with him. Or judgement one way or the other. He was genuinely curious, and like his singing back in the Delta, it was strangely endearing. Now that she thought about it, he was also the first man she'd invited into her bedroom... such as the bizarre circumstances were. Finding the box, she drew it out of her closet and made her way over to the chair beside the bed. Sitting down in it, putting the box on her lap. She gestured for Ash to take a seat on the bed, and he did so, looking back at her and the box as she opened it up.

"The hat?"

Ash nodded and took it out of his coat pocket, handing it over to her. She held the thing with disdain, looking it over as she had in the diner, shaking her head. Then stuffing it to the bottom of the box. Handing over the box to him, he took it, and began to look inside. At the various printed sheets of newspapers, clippings and journals... the evidence Mark had gathered for her, and more that she had looked for over the years since. Watching him examine it all... she gradually found her voice, taking her time with it. Losing herself in memory.

"The man in your nightmare was real. Is real. Like the hat says, his name is Freddy Krueger. He was a child murderer in Springwood years ago. They called him the Springwood Slasher. He was born the bastard son of a hundred maniacs, born of rape, to a nun named Amanda Krueger, Sister Mary Helena, who was trapped in an asylum. He worked at a power plant... took his victims back to a boiler room... that was why his world looked the way it did in your nightmare. He took his victims back there, in life as he does now in death. He was married and had a daughter... but both of them vanished, and I haven't been able to turn up anything on them. I think we can assume what happened. The parents of Elm Street burned him alive when he was caught and got away with his crimes on a legal technicality. Somehow, he became something worse, in death... a specter haunting the Dream World. Hideous. Demonic. Steadily worse. Seeking revenge on the parents by tormenting and killing their children in their dreams. Growing stronger with the soul of every person he kills."

"In 1982 he faced a girl named Nancy Thompson... Krueger murdered her mother and all her friends in the process. She was able to defeat him for the first time, but it didn't last. It never seems to. After that he faced a boy named Jesse Walsh and a girl named Lisa Webber... again he murdered a number of their friends... even a coach at Springwood High... but was defeated somehow. Still he came back anyways. Nancy and Jesse both lived at 1428 Elm Street previously. He murdered Nancy in 1987... and Jesse and Lisa went missing in 1985. He keeps coming back... a shadow plaguing the young dreamers of Springwood. His hunting ground in the Dream World."

Alice went silent again for a long time, considering his bruised, bandaged face as he looked over the what was inside the box. There was no sense getting into her own losses, how she had become what she was, just yet. That would come, if he intended to stick around. She knew she was already dumping a great deal of information on top of him all at once out of nowhere to try to sift through and fathom. Playing catch up. She would have to try to ease him into it, as best as she could. She would try to do for him the first time what couldn't be done for her. Ash visibly chewed it over, not meeting her eyes.

"Uh... Dream World... right.", Ash echoed at last, uncertainty and discomfort flitting across his face. He lowered the clippings and journals back down into the box, putting the lid back on it and setting it on the floor. He looked at it for a long time, before finally meeting her gaze hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Is it still too late to back out now?"

Alice felt Yvonne's gaze rolling her eyes impatiently, and the two women made eye contact. And came to an understanding with a respective nod. So much could only be spoken with words... even articles and physical evidence, showing him the house. It would be another thing to take the plunge with him into the Dream World. To show him the truth. While it too would be a great deal to take in... it would be vivid, undeniable, and he would not be alone while he did it. She would be with him, she could keep him close. And deep down, she knew she had been planning to show him all along. At one time or another. He needed to know the truth, regardless of how he reacted to it. Lives were counting on her to get it right this time. Rising from the chair, she took the box and went over to put it back into her closet, speaking as she did so.

"Give me your coat and lay down on the bed, Ash. We're going to show you something. Maybe seeing will be believing."

"Ladies, I like where I think this is going, but isn't there a kid in the house?", Ash cracked nervously, looking between the two of them, clearly seizing the humorous out to hide his confusion. Alice turned back away from the closet and stood before him at the foot of the bed. "Not that my old man ever extended the same basic courtesy."

"You wanted to know the truth, Ash. I'm offering it to you. I know you have your doubts... but you know it must be true. How else could you tear that jacket, come out of your nightmare with injuries, and take something with you out of it?"

Ash was silent at that, listening to her carefully... the humor evaporating from his face. He rose his bandaged hand, examining it, and touching his cut up, sore face. Slowly lowering the limb back down to his side again, he didn't argue about it. She went on, voice quieter and soothing, assuring him as best as she could.

"I know you're afraid. That's ok. I was terrified, when I first found out. I'm still afraid. There are other worlds than this one. Beautiful and terrible. I promise I will explain everything that I know. Just take my hand and trust me with this. I won't let anything happen to you. I think you know that."

Ash stared back at her for quite some time, visibly debating it with himself. The two of them watching one another. Very slowly, to her relief, he gradually nodded, coming to an understanding. Rising off the bed, he unzipped his jacket and removed it, revealing the blue denim long sleeved shirt beneath. And the glinting silver chain at his collar. He turned the leather jacket around, looking down at the claw marks that had been torn through the back with a visible grimace. At last he handed it off to her and she hung it up on the rack next to Debbie's coat.

Turning back to the bed, Ash sat and lay down on it, breathing comfortably and pressing his head back into the pillows. Alice made her way back over to the chair beside it, and Yvonne moved away from the doorway, circling around the bed and standing beside Alice's chair, looking between her and and Ash. A trace of apprehension and concern growing.

Yvonne understood all too well, how it was. She had shown her the Dream World already, how it worked... just as she had her father. In the early days she had been conflicted about showing them... but her experiences and losses had shown her she needed a strong circle. Family and friends and lovers were that core, a trinity, making up that unbreakable foundation of life. Only one of them was missing from her life now.

"Yvonne is going to stay here. If she sees any troubling signs from either of us, she'll wake us up right away."

"Get in there, show him, and get back out, Alice. No dicking around.", Yvonne spoke up at last, looking her way with a nod. Before Ash could retort she shot a look at him down on the bed. "And no more clever quips, you. Just shut up and pay attention. Do everything she tells you to."

Ash's mouth was frozen mid word forming... but he stopped with a smirk and shrugged back at Yvonne's serious look. He looked up at the ceiling a bit awkwardly, resting his bandaged and gloved hands on either side of the bed. Fingers tapping the covers, glancing over Alice's way uncertainly.

"Ok. So, what's the deal?"

"Close your eyes and lay your head back."

"Alright. They're closed, they're closed. Now what?"

"I'm going to pull you into my dream."

"What? Like some astral plane shit or something?"

"Or something."

"Red, unless there was some... LSD in that coffee back... at the diner, I really don't... see how...-

Closing her eyes, reaching out to him with her mind's eye, she seized him in her arms, drew him to her breast and pulled him down through the bed and floor with her. They fell together, down into eternity. Time and space had no meaning where they went. The endless expanse of the Dream World encompassed around them within and without. A sea of dreams. Millions of dreamers... billions of them, all the dreams that came with them, in every corner, every inch of the land. A land ever growing. The dreams of the dead long passed on and the dreams of the living. The dreams of the unborn. All of them as vivid and alive as one another, here. She heard Ash screaming and felt him clinging against her as closely as possible, his panicked grip tightening. Her own grip did as well calmly, hands soothingly rubbing his back, to reassure him he was ok. He was safe in her arms. He could trust her.

Down and down and down they fell, through a million different lenses of color, shape, sight and sound. Further and wider than the human mind could fathom. No, they weren't falling anymore, they were flying, hand in hand and side by side, fingers intertwined. Flying through the air like one of Mark's comic book superheroes. The realm was theirs to navigate. And just then, they knew no fear. His panicked screams had turned as quickly into roars of laughter... and so was she, laughing with him. She felt an expanding warmth inside her... a light that he shared, growing within him in unison. She flew him up, down and around in circles, through the dreamscape. Gave him a view of the land the Dream Master alone could provide. She felt his awe, his excitement, in their shared touch. Their connection. The fear was gone within him, in the here and now. There was a child's wonder in him... brought back to life after so long.

And then she imagined her safe place and drew him down into it with her in an embrace. The diner at afternoon formed around them as they spun as though in a dance beneath the sea. When their surroundings reformed, Ash sat in the seat in front of her at the counter, as he had before. She wore her white uniform, he wore his blue shirt and brown jeans. She made sure the entire place was empty of other figures at first, just the two of them. Ash's eyes were wide, and he was grinning, still recovering from the high of the flight, and what he had seen during it. She merely smiled, standing across from him behind the counter and leaning forward and watching him patiently. He was still flying, in his mind. When he gradually came down from it, he looked back at her, and around their surroundings, his lips parting slowly. Unable to find his voice at first, blinking back at her.

"Welcome back, Dream Hero."

"...Was I right about you spiking the diner coffee? Did we even leave for your place, yet?"

"We're somewhere much farther and greater than LSD could ever take someone."

"Don't be so sure. I lived through the 70's. Where are we, then?"

"In the Dream World, of course. In my safe place. Everyone has at least one. Most people's are different."

"Yours is where you work?"

"It's full of good memories... people I have known and loved.", Alice smiled at him, gesturing behind him to a booth in the corner of the diner. "Here, they appear exactly as they were before. When I knew them best."

Ash followed her gesture, to glimpse the occupied booth. Packed together in the booth, or at chairs or standing around it, were all of them. Rick and Kristen... Debbie and Sheila... Kincaid and Joey... and Mark and Greta. And Dan, of course, right there in the middle of them all, smiling broadly at them, as he had in the photograph. They all looked like they were in a _living_ photograph now. Smiling and laughing, talking to one another, joking. It may as well have been right after school let out, again. It made her smile turn forlorn.. and she knew Ash caught it when he looked back around at her finally.

"Or maybe I like to torture myself... with bittersweet illusions. Maybe I like being sad, in some strange way. Reminding myself. I don't know. I'm complicated as all hell. I've always been a dreamer."

"Understandable. They might be illusions, but sometimes parts of the past are better than the present... or the future. Sometimes you just need an escape. One way or another."

"I escape too often. But I bring all sorts of memories here, Ash. Good ones, especially. And you've given me one more to hold on to, now."

The jukebox came to life behind them. Ash spun around in his seat to look at it. Alice chose the song that he had played just for her, turning up the volume.

"That was one of the most romantic, brave things anyone has ever done for me, Ash. Thank you. I'll always cherish it."

Ash slowly turned back around... adjusted his collar... squirming in his seat a bit, but didn't say anything. And she could have sworn she saw a creeping flush in his features. It pleased her to no end.

"Let me give you a memory back, while you are here."

Alice's eyes lowered down to his gloved hand. When Ash followed her gaze, he found the glove removed... and a normal, flesh, right hand there. His eyes flashed back up at her, shocked, and her smile deepened. He held up the hand shakily... staring at it for a time, flexing the fingers... testing them. Feeling them. He drew low, steadying breath of relief, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. Rubbing it with the other, the bandage and wounds gone from that one. All the wounds on his face and body removed. Noticing that when he looked over her shoulder to the mirror behind her... and his eyes returned to hers.

"I'm just sorry I can't do that in the real world."

"Who are you, Alice? Really?", Ash's voice murmured, as much to himself as to her. "What the hell are you?"

"I am the Dream Master, Ashley. I have been for six years now. By day I am simply a young mother, a waitress, a daughter and a friend. Nobody special. By night I am powerful, I am this, I am here... in this place, where all souls go. All minds. The dreamscape, the Dream World, Dream Land, Wonderland. Call it what you will."

"You're God here?"

"In the entire Dream World? No. Not at all. I am powerful, not all powerful. I am far seeing, not all seeing. There is so much of this place I neither know nor understand. Nor ever will, in my lifetime. But I have been given the keys to this place, so to speak. And I have been given a map... one I am still charting. Nor do I or have I ever wanted the worship of other dreamers. Most of them don't even know I exist anyways. Who I am in real life. It's probably better that way."

"And what are you in this diner?"

"Everyone is the God of their own particular dream. Their safe place. The world they create inside bends to their will and desires alone. I'm nothing special in here."

"What is Krueger?"

"Exactly what you saw him as, in your nightmare. He has never hidden what he is. Not really. He can't. Couldn't if he tried... and doesn't want to. He counts on the ignorance of others to disguise him when he needs one. The Nightmare Master. I do not know how it came to be. Who, or what empowered him the way I was. As hard as I've tried to find out, I don't know. In a way, he created me... when he tried to use me for his own purposes. Or at least set me into motion unwittingly. How he must regret that now. Wherever he is lurking, down in that godforsaken boiler room."

"That was _you_. _You_ sent the phone booth. You came for me... into my nightmare. Saved me."

"Yes. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to reach you in time."

"You hurt him, but he resisted. Is he more powerful than you?"

"He can be, and I more than him. He is afraid of me, and I fear him. He hates me, and I hate him. There are areas I am weak and he is strong, and vice versa. He has more experience and knowledge than me, certainly... cunning... but it has made him sneeringly arrogant. Shortsighted. Maybe we were always meant to be at a balance, lest we destroy or devastate the dreamscape with our fighting. The difference is... as much as I hate him, I am content with a balance, with myself as the person I am here... and he is not. He wants more. It will never be enough for him any longer. Not since he murdered the last of the Elm Street children. Completing his undeserved revenge was not enough, he reached outside Elm Street through me. He has no soul left of his own, Ash. I'm certain of it. He subsides on the souls of others. Swallows them. The appetites of monsters are never sated."

"No... they aren't..."

Steadily, the music and Elton John's voice died away, and the jukebox went silent as the song ended. Ash looked at the jukebox for a long time, visibly deep in contemplation, still examining his healed hand. Chewing over what she had told him. Trying to come to terms with it. When she sensed he was prepared for more, she spoke again, drawing back his focus.

"There's someone who I know would like to meet you here, for a bit. In this place."

"Another illusion? Like _them_?"

"No. Quite real. Closer to me than anything in existence. Always with me. My Dream Child."

Reaching out with her mind's eye again, she phased into Jacob's dream... making contact with him directly. As they had before. As she had taught him. He became pliable at once, wrapping his arms around her projection, as she drew him from his colorful, innocent world of make believe. Reformed him to be sitting on the seat next to Ash, inside the diner. Safe and secure with them in her safe place. Jacob smiled when the transfer was complete, and Alice circled around the counter, going to him. Hugging him in his seat again, kissing his forehead. His little arms hugged her back... and he looked past her to the other occupant. The other dreamer.

"Hi Ash."

"Hey... little man...", Ash answered at once, adjusting remarkably quickly to what he had witnessed. Reaching over, he rubbed Jacob's hair, eliciting another smile from the child. And one from her. "It's really you, isn't it? You're here."

"Yes. You're here to save us aren't you? Protect us. You're a knight. That's what the lady said."

"Lady?"

Jacob looked down to the counter, and Ash followed his gaze. One of his drawings resided there, the one of Sister Mary, Amanda, all in white. He looked it over for a long moment... something troubled, uncertain passing over his expression. Comprehension. He smiled evasively at Jacob, and turned in his seat, looking back down at the table with all her friends, her brother and Dan.

"That's your dad, back there, isn't it? Why don't you run along down there and see him?"

"He's not real. He's a dream. I never met him. It's not his fault."

Ash's smile slowly vanished... replaced by a sadness as he looked between the calm Jacob, and the image she had created of his smiling father. And back up to Alice. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but couldn't find the words. Holding his tongue. Jacob spoke again instead... voice more awed than before.

"Is it true? Are you really the Dream Hero?"

"I... don't...-

"Time to go back to your safe place, sweetie.", Alice intervened smoothly, glancing at the discomfort on Ash's face, conflict, and back to her son. She wrapped her arm around him again, rubbing his back. "It's ok. Ash will still be with us in the morning. You can see each other then."

"Ok. Night night mommy. Night night Ash."

"Goodnight, little man."

Jacob jumped forward and hugged Ash around the midsection, pressing his head against the man's blue shirt. Ash was startled for an instant... but looking down at the boy... adjusted to it. Hugging him back with one arm awkwardly. Rubbing the top of his head again gruffly. Her son looked up at him with another smile and Ash returned it. Alice felt another pang of growing warmth and fondness at that. Once Jacob retracted from the hug, Alice took him into her arms again... into her mind's eye. Smiling back at him, she gently put him back into his safe place... for the remainder of the morning.

Once he had faded away, returned to it, she fortified the outside of it, with all her concentration. Krueger might have been afraid to attack him... but she was taking no chances anymore. If he even looked at Jacob's safe place, she would know. She would be there to tear him apart. Their bond ensured that. When he was gone, she withdrew from her reverie... looking back at all her dead friends... at her brother... at Dan. Then she unmade them. Leaving her safe place only for the two of them. The two that remained alive... and relatively whole. She looked back at Ash who had silently watched it all. Taking Jacob's vacated seat next to Ash, she spoke to him again. Tried to explain what she knew was confusing him. What was already confusing her.

"I am the Dream Master, Jacob is the Dream Child. Krueger came after him, last time. Tried to change him. Turn him into his own son. When he was in my womb... Krueger tried to poison his dreams, use them against us to kill again. Feed him the souls he claimed. He almost succeeded. He would have, if not for Yvonne... for Amanda. Here in this Dream World of our own... it has only been the two of us. Dream Master and Dream Child."

"I've been teaching him. Trying to. I thought that was enough, for awhile. But something was missing. Someone. I thought it was Dan... but he is gone. And I never really got a chance to teach him about the Dream World. These days I'm out of touch with the greater Dream World beyond. Incomplete. The teenagers out there in Springwood woke Krueger up again, and I knew nothing about it until today. Didn't see or feel any of it. What kind of Dream Master does that make me? I was supposed to guard the positive dream gate, do my duty. Amanda told Jacob you were coming. And I trust her. I need help. Maybe what was missing from our lives all along was the Dream Hero. Maybe it's not much different from chess. The King and The Queen protect each other. Maybe it takes more than one to guard the Dream World. After all... who guards the guardian?"

She looked back down to the counter, replacing the drawing of Amanda with the one sitting on her fridge in the real world. Ash looked down to it... to the dark haired man in blue and brown... with a smoking, barbed, bloody sword for a right arm. That hand rose, tracing along the drawing... as he looked to the name printed there over his head. He rose his head and looked around the diner... looking at a loss for words. When he finally found them, he looked back over to her, voice quiet and weary.

"This is insane, Red. All of it."

"Yes. It is. But it's also true. It has to be."

"How? 'Dream Hero'... sounds like a bad _Dokken_ song. I've never heard that name in my life."

"Nor I, until last afternoon, like you. You see? I don't know everything about this place. The rules, the customs. I have much to learn here as well. Every time I do explore I am surprised. I never had a guide to teach me how it works. All this was dropped on me one day as well. An entire lifetime can change in such a short span. You probably know that."

"I've been called a hero, in the real world, Alice... but I'm not one.", Ash muttered back, shaking his head slowly, leaning back in his chair. His expression was defeated... and she saw some shame in it as well. "I've tried. Really... but I'm just a fuck up. Nothing more. I make everything worse. I can't help you. I don't think I can make it in this Dream World of yours."

"I think you underestimate yourself. Who you really are. That you always have."

"I don't think so. I know I'm sure as hell not a 'Dream Hero'. I'm not like you, or your son. Not like you are here. Outside I can rise to the occasion, if I have to... but in here... all I know is nightmares, when I actually manage to get some sleep. I have no imagination in here. I try to cram myself full of pleasures... fun, escape while I'm awake... nothing works. I don't know what the hell I'm doing around still. What I want... or how I survived this long."

"Because you are strong. Kind and brave. Righteous, beneath it all. You are a _good_ man, Ashley. Even if it doesn't feel like it. I know one when I see one."

When he didn't reply to her, and she saw the conflict in his expression, Alice leaned forward, and took his face into both of her hands. Holding it, fingers slowly rubbing his unmarred features. Looking deeply into those warm, gorgeous dark eyes... and making him look back into hers. They remained that way for a long time. As long as needed. She considered something else... perhaps it was a bold step to be taking, so soon... but maybe it would help. She would ask, at least... give him that choice for himself.

"Everyone has a safe place they go to, Ashley. Everyone has memory. I have shown you mine. You are welcome here anytime. Will you show me yours? Share with me?"

He seemed to go into a relaxed state at her continued touch, and gaze. At her words and her request. She felt the muscles in his face calming down. Felt him growing at ease. He closed his eyes for a few moments... and when they opened, he nodded once more.

"I... I'll try. I don't know how though. How any of this works."

"That's why I'm here. I'm not the best teacher in either world... but I will do my best."

"Ok. Ok, then... let's do it. Help me, please."

"Think backwards. To your life. Who you were before now. Before all this. Go at your own pace... take it slow... show me what you are comfortable sharing."

She reached out to him in another way, even as she touched him there in the manifestation of the diner. Her mind's eye. A pulse went through the both of them, a light connecting them... and a rush they both shared. The diner dimmed, and his memories flickered through her mind's eye. Flashes, as he searched for his safe place. Fumbling for it. In no order of his memory. A dark haired man in a long, faded blue denim shirt who resembled a heavier, older, less handsome Ash. The man was banging his fist on a bedroom door, cursing and yelling at the occupant to turn his music down, Alice Cooper blaring from his bedroom. The teenager within merely cranking it up louder in response.

A little dark haired boy was pushing his younger sister on a swing set out in the yard, both of them laughing. Three teenage boys were putting small explosives inside mailboxes, watching and laughing as they detonated, the angry owners of the homes shouting down the street at them as they fled. The memories became gradually stronger the more they went on, more detailed. The Delta, driving up a long winding road through a forest, narrowly missing a red truck and honking at a couple waving hitchhikers... five young men and women inside it.

A quiet, shy looking dark haired young man with thick hair, a strong jaw, in a blue denim shirt and a sweater was sitting with two girls in the backseat, with his arm around the one in the middle. A brown haired pretty young woman with earrings wearing a dark Michigan State University sweater over a white turtleneck. The girl sitting on the opposite side seemed in her own world, wearing a dress with a dark top, peering out the window... with the same eyes as the young man. When the young man spoke now and again, it was with a soft, nervous tone, studying a map and giving directions to the driver. A loudly laughing, athletic looking blonde man in a Letterman jacket drove the car, his cheerleader looking girlfriend singing up in the passenger seat. In another flash she saw from behind his eyes a pale beauty, a dark haired woman in an antiquated red dress smiling at him. In another flash the Delta was crossing a rickety, unstable bridge, barely making it over, as the young man opened the door and looked down over the edge to watch a falling piece of wood nervously.

Then the Delta was driving slowly down a forest path, approaching a cabin out deep in the woods. Another flash, and the young man in blue was playing at a piano in the cabin while the others listened. Another and he was standing proposing a toast to everyone at the head of a dinner table. She locked on to a particularly strong memory... and let go of her safe place, seizing on to what seemed to be his. The diner faded away around them... they passed through the dreamscape in a flash... and in the diner's place formed a big room made of wood flooring, walls and a roof. The cabin and all of it's furnishings encompassed them... and once it had Alice finally let go of Ash.

The two of them stood in the middle of the cabin... and the moment they did, Ash's head snapped around, looking around with shock. Her eyes followed his, as they looking about it, to the fireplace, the piano, the furniture, a trap door in the floor with a cuckoo clock on the wall behind it and various other objects. Both of their gazes rose and settled on the young man from the car sat on a couch with his girlfriend in the turtleneck sweater, staying up while a storm formed outside, the thunder rumbling and rain pouring. She could see the mist out in the woods beyond the rain soaked window. When the girlfriend left the room to check on another girl, the dark haired young man crept down on to the floor, peering around the corner to see that the coast was clear. With a familiar smile, he took a small blue box out of his shirt and looked inside, closing it back up and hastily retreating to the couch when he spotted his girlfriend returning.

Alice felt herself smile, warmth spreading through their connection, watching as the cute young man pretended to be asleep, leaving the small surprise gift box on his leg between his fingers in a light grip. She sat on the couch next to him with a pleased look, and slowly reached for the box... but the young man's eyes popped open when she wasn't looking. Just as she turned her head to see if his eyes were open, they popped closed again. The two of them trying to catch each other watching the other. Both of them laughing when she managed to catch the young man peeking.

After she had, he gave her the box... opening it up and revealing what was within. A silver chain... with a small ornamental looking glass on it. He helped her put it on, and she rose from the couch, going to look at herself with it in the mirror. The young man rose as well, walking up shyly behind her.

"Oh Ash... it's beautiful. I really love it. I'll never take it off."

She turned around to face the young man, drawing closer and giving him a peck on the lips. Before they both went in for another one. Deeper and longer, arms wrapping around one another in their tender embrace. Ash walked up closer to his younger self, and his girlfriend... staring at each. Alice walked closer as well, but trailed just behind him, not wanting to seem an interloper.

"Linda..."

"This is a beautiful memory, Ash. I can see why this would be your safe place. Thank you for sharing this with me."

"No... no, no, no... not here.", He muttered, looking back around at her with a sudden desperation that took her off guard. Trying to keep his voice controlled against the fear spreading through him."I didn't want to come here. Not again. Please, Alice... get us out of here before-

Ash doubled over with pained grunt, clutching his head and grimacing. Something was wrong. It wasn't right. This wasn't his safe place... it wasn't stable, like hers or Jacob's. She could feel it was fracturing around them. It was more than him being inexperienced at creating one, navigating the Dream World. Their connection remained... but part of it began to twist, darken... as an outside source broke in. A third presence occupying the cabin with them. Terribly familiar... and horribly strong.

The kissing, happy couple disappeared, then. All of a sudden a barrage of images exploded around them, memory after memory mixing together and encompassing them, mixed in with the steady deterioration of the cabin. The windows exploded... a living silhouette shifted in the mirror, torrents of blood burst from several places in the walls, a mounted stag's head on the wall twisted, eyes bulging and began to laugh maniacally along with a bending, twisting, chirping lampshade.

The chained cellar door in the floor began to rattle, to slam, making Alice jump and look at it. A deformed abomination was down there in the shadows desperately trying to get out, blood oozing from it's malformed face. Screaming and laughing with the mounted stag, each of them spitting out bile. A cascade of monstrous, distorted voices echoed all around and through them, causing Ash even worse pain... and her heart to start racing wildly.

"_**DEAD BY DAWN! DEAD BY DAWN! DEAD BY DAWN!"**_

"_**WE ARE THE THINGS THAT WERE AND SHALL BE AGAIN!"**_

"It's not going to let us leave!"

"_**SOMEONE'S IN MY FRUIT CELLAR! SOMEONE WITH A FRESH SOUL!"**_

"_**Why have you disturbed our sleep? Awakened us from our ancient slumber?"**_

"_**WE LIVE! WE LIVE! STILL!"**_

"_**We're gonna get you! We're gonna get you! Not another peep! Time to go to sleep!"**_

"_**I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL! I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL!"**_

An ancient book bound in flesh and blood opened in front of Alice, then, it's pages rippling. A darkness pouring from it that spread through the cabin and all around the surrounding woods. A man's disembodied voice speaking a strange, haunting language over a tape. Chanting.

In the next instant Alice was frozen stiff as the Ash of the memory was face down on the floorboards of the cluttered kitchen and being dragged by his own rotting hand, trying to seize a knife to stab it's owner. Ash slammed another knife through his own living hand, pinned it, grabbed a nearby chainsaw, fired it up and chopped it off at the wrist as he screamed and laughed madly, blood spraying all over his face in a torrent. In the next instant he was blood soaked and his right stump was heavily bound up, he charged forward with a terrified scream, splitting the top of a deformed, rotting, humanoid monster's head off with an axe, green fluids spraying all over the walls and mirror as a young woman screamed. Steadily chopping it to pieces all over the floor as he exerted himself with everything he had.

A cuckoo clock sounded off on the wall non stop, alive, with all the other objects in the room. A pair of rotting hands burst out of the floorboards and grabbed Ash by the face, a squealing thing below claiming to be his sister. Then Ash was outside in the woods, in a pile of dirt on a makeshift grave, still bearing both hands... wildly swinging a shovel upward as the deformed, living corpse of Linda tried to tackle him. In another instant her headless corpse danced, twirled and giggled in the moonlight as Ash watched in horror from the cabin window.

In another flash Ash was deformed and monstrous like the others, his eyes dead white... possessed with the darkness from the pages. He growled maliciously, nodding his head with satisfaction and advanced upon the fallen, unconscious form of the young woman who had screamed before. Before he could tear into her... he froze... spotting something lying beside her, down on the carpet. The necklace with the looking glass. He knelt before it, picking it up and looking it over. His deformed face began to twist with pain... with memory. Grief. It all poured out of him at once in a crying scream, raising the necklace overhead and bowing forward. When he finally rose again, tears stained his bloodied face... and his soul was his own.

He was walking down in a dark place with a firearm, when a pipe overhead under intense pressure burst, spraying his entire body in blood. A void opened behind him and pulled him through it outside the cabin, screaming and spinning end over end, something big she couldn't make out attached to his right arm. He was lying on his back under the sunlight surrounded by men covered head to toe in glinting steel, brandishing swords down at him.

He ran around somewhere outside in a blue cloak and tunic with another head like his own growing out of his shoulder, taunting and tormenting him. He was chained and being forcibly marched through a barren place under the heat of the blazing sun with a lineup of men in armor and red tunics behind him. Villagers and children poked him with sharp sticks and threw rocks and rotten food at him and the other men, while a shouting young woman furiously tugged on his hair. A massive army of the dead marched towards a castle, while Ash manned the battlements, shouting orders at the other armored men below and around him. Brandishing a sword, a steel gauntlet and steel breast plate with a black lion inscribed on it. A streak of white ran through his hair at the side of his head.

Then he was back in his own time, back home walking down the street... and many of the townspeople shouted and pointed in his face. Jeering kids threw rocks and bottles and produce at him. Nobody believed him. They spray painted the words all over his family home, and on his father's hardware store. He argued with his father loudly, packed his bags, got into the Delta, gloved hand gripping the wheel, and he had never looked back at Elk Grove in twelve years.

"ASHY SLASHY! ASHY SLASHY! ASHY SLASHY!"

Ash was overwhelmed, burying his face into his hands painfully from the onslaught of memories, and Alice herself was taken off guard by them, their near blinding intensity. He was blindly backing away from Alice, out of her reach, further into the cabin. All around them the heat began to grow and build like a raging furnace... and she knew it wasn't an exaggeration. Metal scraped around them... chains clanked together, and much of the wood of the cabin began to burn away... revealing the rusted, heated steel and steam pipes hiding beneath the illusion. Jutting like snakes through the walls. Half the illusion lingered in the form of the cabin, but his world of metal, rust and fire had closed around them like a cage while they had been lost in Ash's memories. Away from the safety of her safe place.

"_What's the matter, Ashy Slashy? The festering cunt taking you on a trip ya didn't wanna go on?"_

The voice she knew laughed hideously from behind them, then. Alice spun to find him standing in the cabin with them... red eyes shining brightly with his power. More power than she had ever seen him with. More souls. She heard their screams under his sweater, under his flesh. Clothed again as he always was... but different. More wrong than before, enough to take her off guard. There was something more bloated about him... he was taller and broader than he had been... the veins in his neck and burnt face were massive, throbbing, pulsating under pressure. His flesh rippling, trickling pus, twitching now and again. A twitching particularly along his back beneath the sweater. He didn't stand alone either... but with dozens of the misshapen, twitching, humanoid, monstrous abominations from Ash's memories. An army of his own. Among them his dead, possessed, decaying friends. Holding up two living, bleeding, severed woman's heads... belonging to Ash's sister and his girlfriend.

"_The Dark Ones made your mind a fucked up apotheosis of shadows and madness, Ashley. A brimming cesspit. We'll be right at home, there. Let's see what else is in there. What we can do that they haven't already."_

He threw Linda's head like a bowling ball towards Ash, blood soaking the floor in a trail, so it landed at his feet, staring up and cackling... and threw the other right at Ash, forcing him to catch it on instinct. Looking down with horror upon his monstrous, disembodied sister. She projectile vomited blood and bile all over his face. He screamed and dropped the severed head, backing up against a wall, the darkened connection sending him more memories, on a frequency Alice could no longer glimpse or even feel. Whatever he saw made him scream in agony, clutching his head and struggling to stay upright. The illusion she had given to him vanished, his bruises, cuts, band aids and bandages all returning.

His hand was large and gloved again... and four long blades shot out of the tips of the fingers. The hand took on a life of it's own again and slashed out at his face. Ash managed to stop it an inch from his eyes, struggling to restrain it with his other hand, screaming and writhing. The Nightmare Master laughed at him with the other monsters he had created from Ash's worst memories... lost himself in his malicious mirth... and Alice felt her growing, pulsating rage consume her. She hadn't planned or wanted any of this... she had been trying to help Ash... teach him, protect him, and as he always did, the sick bastard tried to defile something good and decent. _Someone_ good and decent. She found her voice and then some.

"KRUEGER! LEAVE HIM ALONE ! IT'S ME YOU WANT! REMEMBER?! FIGHT ME YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

Krueger slowly turned his head to her, as though seeing her again for the first time, tilting his head to the side and leering. Salivating from his jagged maw of razor teeth. Running his tongue across his burnt off lips, raising his clawed glove and mockingly wagging his finger at her.

"_Uh uh uh. That's not gonna bait me this time. Thanks for showing me what was in his head, Alice. Giving me something to work with. You always do the work for me... don't you? Make it so easy. He's mine now, bitch. Not yours. Mine. Yvonne is next. Then your father. Then your little bastard. Then you, whore. You get to watch them all die first... suffer, in your world. Like you made me suffer in mine. I'll make what I did to Danny Boy look like a fucking mercy kill. Then I drag you all down screaming into my world. And you suffer some more."_

Red eyes glinting malevolently, grinning wider, he turned back towards Ash... and she understood his purpose. Where he would jump in the next flicker of the rusty, swinging lights casting their shadows all over the cabin and boiler room. Focusing with all her concentration, like she never had before, she blasted across the room in an instant and seized Ash around the midsection. Krueger's glinting hand missed him by less than a second. Alice burst them up through the ceiling of the cabin, tore through all the rusted scrap metal of the cage and flew them up into eternity again.

The clawed metal hand possessing Ash tried to claw at and stab her, but she seized it by the wrist and held it in place off to the side, away from them where it couldn't pierce them. The rest of Ash clung to her like a frightened child, shivering and burrowing his face into her, sobbing and hiding away from the Dream World they rose up over. She rubbed his back, stroked his hair, tried to comfort him with murmuring, tender words over the clashing of murderous steel fingers together... but her hand shook almost as much as his. What frightened her the most was not what had happened, back in that cabin... that boiler room. It was the fact that a scream of rage did not follow them back up at being defied again, like he had before.

All Krueger did was laugh.

His laughter and madness chased them up through the Dream World, expanding, with his power. His hold over the Dream World. One he was working at reshaping. He had won something. He had made his mark on Ash... every bit as much as she had, just in his own sick way. A tug of war over him. Over the Dream Hero. He wanted Ash as his vessel... to corrupt him, in the Dream World and real world... before she could claim him for her own. As he'd tried to do to Jacob. The realization of his masterstroke... his sabotage... almost blinded her. Almost. She still saw well enough to get them home. And to know what she had to do next.

They woke in the same instant, each of them soaked through in sweat and shock. Her in the chair, him bolting upright in the bed screaming. Yvonne had been leaning over him, trying to rouse him awake... she screamed with surprise as well and flew backwards away from the bed. Or tried to. Ash's gloved hand wrapped around her throat first and pulled her closer as he sat upright panting... Yvonne struggled just enough to tear the glove off his hand and wrist... revealing the gleaming steel plate and chainmail gauntlet beneath when it seized her again. Just as Alice had seen it in his nightmare. His dark eyes burned red now... his mouth and face twisted into a hideous sneer she recognized, he leaned slowly in closer to Yvonne... and Krueger's growl emerged from behind his lips.

"_Think I forgot about you, bitch? I still owe you that swimming lesson."_

Yvonne's eyes widened under the pressure and realization, jaw dropping as the possessed man leered at her ravenously, tongue darting in and out of his mouth provocatively. Alice flew out of the chair and around the bed to Yvonne's side, seizing the wrist of the gauntlet and trying to pry it off her. His metal hand tensed... but he did not squeeze tighter. Something shocked him into stillness... silence, all but his breathing... sweat pouring from his bruised, band aid covered face. The cuts had reopened, blood trickling down his twisted features. His face contorted... trembling, veins taut... fighting it, with everything he had, hand shaking. Realization coursed through Alice's pounding heart and she moved in closer, shouting in his twitching face.

"Fight him, Ash! Look at me! Think of something good! You have so much of it inside you! It burns him! Makes you stronger than him! Think of your sister! Think of Linda! Think of them alive and whole again! How much they loved you!"

"_Give in to us, Ashley. Arise and rend them all. Now. You are mine. Not this slut's. Ignore her. She is nothing. You are nothing. It's our will against yours... and you will lose... sooner or later."_

Ash's mouth began to twist again as the thing inside him grew steadily stronger, closer to overpowering him, grip slowly tightening on the gagging Yvonne. Remembering, Alice rapidly reached down his shirt and drew out the silver necklace. Holding up the looking glass, so he could see Yvonne through it. See what he was doing to her. He stared at it blankly for a long moment... and sensed something... someone. Slowly, he turned towards the open bedroom doorway... and so did she... to find Jacob in his pajamas silently watching them. Staring at the gleaming steel, mechanical gauntlet, the red eyes, and the struggle. There was no fear in his gaze as he looked back at the possessed man.

Shakily, Ash looked away from the boy... back into Alice's eyes... back to the looking glass... he closed his eyes, and tears slowly began to stream and pour along with the sweat. There was a deep, bestial growl of frustration escaping his lungs that was not his own. When he opened his teary eyes again, the malignant red of his eyes began to dim. A little at a time. Replaced with his horrified, widened dark brown pair. His sneering mouth twitching and gradually relaxing, going still once more. And then his gauntlet. He let Yvonne go and fell backwards in the bed, gasping for breath. Yvonne fell backwards to the floor gasping and retching, rubbing her bruised neck, and Jacob raced into the room to her side. Alice moved around the bed to Ash's side, leaning down as he gasped, trying to catch his breath and come to his senses.

"Ash... Ash... it's ok... it's over. He's gone. He couldn't hold on to you so far away. The connection is severed. You're stronger than he is. Better than him. You just proved it."

Her cool hand settled on his heated face, and she began to stroke his cheek slowly, trying to bring him back around, She didn't know if he heard a word of it, but his eyes eventually snapped in her direction. Still breathing deeply, some semblance of himself returned, and he began to climb off the bed. Alice wrapped her arm around him to help support him as he rose. He looked slowly between Jacob and Yvonne... Jacob staring back at him with calmness, Yvonne with terror, backing away from him. Alice set her hand on his shoulder, recapturing his attention as he breathed deeply. Blood, sweat and tears still staining his face.

"Are you...-

"It's... fine... I'm fine... he's out of my head... I need to use the restroom... I'm sorry... I'm...-

Turning abruptly, backing away, Ash fled the bedroom and down the hall, scrambling about down there bumping into walls. Finding the bathroom she heard him burst through and slam the door, retching and vomiting loudly. By now Yvonne had gotten back to her feet with Jacob's soothing, still breathing deeply and gasping, holding her neck, anger burning back in her eyes at Alice.

"What the fuck happened in there?! What the fuck was that?! That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Krueger... he... he tried to take Ash when we became connected, he was showing me his memories, vulnerable outside of my safe place... and Krueger crept up on us when we were distracted. He tapped into them. Pulled out the ones he was trying not to show me. His nightmares. He was trying to possess Ash to get out into the real world. I got him back here just in time. Broke their connection. Another second longer and..."

"Fuck that!", Raged Yvonne, not hearing her any longer. "He was going to break my goddamn neck! What the hell is he wearing on that hand?!"

"He didn't... Yvonne. Krueger sent that impulse with him. Ash fought it and he stopped. Drove Krueger out of himself. It wasn't him trying to hurt you. Please... just try to breath."

"I'm going back to my fucking room is what I'm doing and I'm barricading the door! For as long as you're keeping that demon possessed psycho patient in the house! What if he'd gone after Jacob?!"

"He didn't. He wouldn't. He won't. I know how bad that looked. And how crazy it sounds. But he's here to protect him. He's here to protect us. Just like Amanda. Just like you. Amanda sent him here in the first place, not Krueger."

Yvonne stared back at her with bewilderment, disbelief... and looked between her and down at Jacob at her side. Her lips trembled, tears forming in her eyes. Blinking to fight them. Looking for her words.

"You're out of your fucking mind, Alice. Like him. All that time in Wonderland", Yvonne flatly announced, her voice going cold and deadly calm. Hollow. Choked. "You know what? Fuck this. This shit is on you, 'Dream Master'. Keep your new lunatic pet. I don't need this."

Turning Yvonne strode from the bedroom and down the hall to her room. Slamming the door. Audible, muffled sobs emanating from down there. Hanging her head, sighing miserably, Alice took Jacob's hand and started from the room... but Jacob paused long enough to retrieve the discarded glove on the ground. When he had, Alice went out into the hall with him, listening to Ash's retching, the water running, and Yvonne's weeping. She was suddenly in a madhouse. It could only happen to her. Had she even left the nightmare after all? Slowly, she knelt down in the hall in front of Jacob, taking his hands into hers and looking back into his eyes deeply.

"I want you to go down to Aunt Yvonne's room and cuddle with her, Jacob. Make sure she's ok. Keep her awake. Please?"

"I will mommy."

Giving him a tired smile, she kissed him on the head and hugged him again, him hugging her right back. When they separated, Jacob gave her back Ash's long, bulky glove... and he started down the hall slowly. But he stopped about half way there, just outside the bathroom door. Looking at it... listening to the man inside, and slowly turned back to Alice.

"He _is_ the Dream Hero mommy. He just doesn't know it yet.", Jacob declared confidently. "Freddy is afraid of him. Like he's afraid of us. That's why he wants him."

Alice stared back at him silently for a time, considering that. The low depths Krueger had gone to to get to Ash. To make his mark and try to corrupt him. It was no different from what he'd done to Alice and to Jacob. To countless others. He was a coward who preyed on the weak or the unprepared, as Ash was. And like all bullies, once his victim fought back, resisted, he would turn and flee. As he had fled Alice and Jacob. As he had just fled Ash. For all the trappings of power he had in that nightmare world of his, what he could do, his own low character tripped him up more than Alice ever could. He was frightening, yes, in his depravity... and he was just as pathetic. And all it took was the innocence of a child he had not been able to despoil to point it out. She smiled back at her son warmly, and nodded.

"Yes... he is. Run along now, sweetie. I love you."

Jacob turned and made his way back down to Yvonne's room. Softly knocking on the door and speaking to her. Within moments, the door unlocked and opened, just enough for Jacob to step through... before it closed behind him and locked again. Alice breathed easier. She wished she could do more for Yvonne... but maybe that was enough for now. She rose again to her feet and made her way to the bathroom. The tap was still running, and Ash's retching and coughing had gradually ceased. Pressing against the door, putting her ear to it, she heard his low breaths, collecting himself. She lightly knocked on the door.

"Ash... It's Alice. Are you ok in there? Ash?"

"_Yeah. I'll be fine. Been through worse.", _His low muffled, worn out voice muttered back through the door._ "Just...uh... gimme a minute... will ya?"_

"Take your time. I'm going to put on some coffee. Come join me in the living room when you're ready. Ok?"

"_Yeah. I'll be right out, Red."_

Pressing her hand gently against the door, she lowered her head and breathed. Looking to the glove in her hand, she knelt down again and slipped it half way under the door for him. Within a few moments, he pulled it out of sight. Rubbing her sweat streaked forehead, brushing aside her hair, she rose, turned and went back down to the kitchen. The clock on the stove told her it was not long after three in the morning. Instinctively, not really aware of what she was doing, she put the coffee on, wandering around the kitchen in a haze. Then she called her father to make sure he was up and to set his fears aside. Reassuring him she, Jacob and Yvonne were ok. That she had a plan... and that someone had come to Springwood to help them against Krueger. That she would call him back later in the day. To stay awake. That she loved him.

As she spoke with him she looked at her pale, solemn reflection in the kitchen mirror. This was her world now... as Dream Master. Her reality had begun to bleed together with her dreams. Yet it didn't frighten her anymore. She felt safer now than she ever had, somehow. Tired, ancient... but more normal. More herself. There wasn't any more pretending. By the time she hung up, the coffee finished brewing, and she poured two cups, bringing them and the pot out to the living room and setting them on the coffee table. Then she went back to the kitchen table, and retrieved the newspaper she had left there. She paused for a moment to look at Jacob's drawing on the fridge... and felt her mouth smiling slightly. Then she went back to the couch, sitting down on it with a low sigh. Raising her own cup and drinking from it, contentedly.

Eventually, she heard the tap shut off... and not long after heard Ash stumble out of the bathroom, hesitantly making his way down the hall to the living room. He made his way around and carefully sad down on the other side of the couch. He looked like hell. The parts of his damp face that hadn't gone pale were deeply bruised, and his blue shirt was stained and smeared with blood droplets. But he had cleaned his face and put the band aids back on properly, or found some new ones under the sink. And he was alive, and safe now... and entirely awake. Taking his own cup of coffee, he drank from it deeply, the warm contents moving through him with a low, relaxed sigh of approval. Sinking backwards deeper into the couch.

"Much better.", Ash muttered to himself... before his dark eyes slowly met her own gaze. His bruised face smiled weakly. "Thanks, Alice."

"Of course. I made a promise, didn't I?"

"Is Yvonne alright?"

"Shaken, obviously. She's strong though... she'll recover. She understands it wasn't you. Jacob went down to comfort her."

"Yeah... he's a good kid like that."

Ash nodded slightly and took another deep sip of his coffee. When he finished up his first cup, she poured him another. He thanked her again with his eyes. After she had set it down on the table, he uttered a low, bitter laugh. Speaking up again, with a visible flicker of amusement, voice wry.

"Like I said. Hell of a first date."

"Know how to show a girl a good time, huh? At least you aren't boring."

"Likewise, Red. No sugar on the first date?"

"There's sugar in your coffee. I'm a three date kind of girl."

"Old fashioned. I like it. Makes it worthwhile."

"You can take me on our second date later in the morning. Make it up to me. Don't worry about it.", Alice assured him, reaching down for the newspaper on the table. Dropping it on his lap and leaning back, taking another sip, and taking her time. "I was given that lead earlier at work. Some teenager who knew who I was. Maybe we can get something we can use against Krueger out of her. What these kids have been up to while I was away. If you're up for hunting that bastard with me. Wouldn't blame you if you weren't."

Ash read the front article in silence for a time. Flipping pages now and again. When he had finished up, he folded the newspaper and dropped it on the table.

"A murdered kid's funeral and avenging him with some good old fashioned demon hunting,", Ash observed aloud when he had finished reading, visibly thinking it over some more. With a shrug, he leaned back into the couch and got comfortable, taking another drink. "Why not? I always was a romantic at heart. It's a date."

"Not gonna lie. You're seriously growing on me already, Ash."

"It's a curse, doll. Demonic possession can be a hell of an aphrodisiac. If you're freaky like me."

His voice was dry, darkly amused, Alice smiled right back at his bruised yet handsome features, and merely shook her head. Nothing more needed to be said. He was a very strange man... but no stranger than her. More normal in some ways. And she liked it. A lot. For the next few hours as the sun gradually rose, they sat together and shared a peaceful silence. She couldn't remember the last time she had known someone she could do that with, apart from Jacob. Where they could communicate without saying a word... and simply understood one another. Each other's burdens. One of those rare times where she thought about absolutely nothing at all... and felt no troubles. They were so few and far between that those moments in time were imprinted on her forever. And she knew this was another of those memories she would cherish. Take back with her to her safe place.

With him, those memories were already tallying up.


	6. The Dream Hero III

"Morning, lady. Looks like it's gonna be a bright one, huh?"

Alice's neighbor stared at his grin with silent alarm and horror, not saying a word as she watered her front lawn and garden. Or simply unable to speak. Maybe it was the stains on his clothes... the people around here seemed pretty big on cleanliness. Not so much on the hospitality... but still an improvement on home and Detroit. He set his cup of coffee on the hood of the Delta, opened the back door and reached inside for the proper suitcase. Bringing it out, he closed the door and went around to the trunk, setting it down and looking inside.

The particular black suit, white shirt, trousers and tie he'd been planning to wear at the conference rested inside, perfectly folded and pressed. With a satisfied nod he closed and locked it up again, pushing it aside on the trunk to clear him some space. Turning, he sat on the trunk and reached back for his coffee, taking another deep sip. Damn fine stuff. If only the diner took Alice's recipe instead of the swill they ordered.

It was around that time he realized the neighbor wasn't the only one staring at him. Passing early morning drivers gaped at him and slowed down. Passing early morning kids out playing. And the various other neighbors, watching him from their windows or coming out to their lawns to catch a glimpse. Not that he could blame them. Word spread fast in a neighborhood like this. Everyone knew everyone... and none of them knew him. One man across the street was out mowing his lawn staring at him... though from the look of it his lawnmower was the one pulling him along.

He glanced back at the house to spot Alice standing in the window, peeking through the blinds. Watching it all. Smiling back at her, he waved with a laugh, looking back up and down the street of the suburb paradise. A sunny slice of Americana. He could get used to it. He just wasn't so sure if it could get used to him. He relaxed out there on the Delta, enjoying the rising sun, fresh cool air, and the coffee, sipping it a bit at a time. To think he'd woken up in a shitty trailer park just the other day. And after what had happened earlier in the morning... he found himself all the more glad just to be there to see the rising sun.

Ash watched the newspaper boy bicycling up the street delivering the Springwood Gazette. When he approached Alice's house, hearing Steven Tyler's voice blaring out of the Delta, he slowed down and stopped in front of the drive way, spotting Ash on the car. Eyes widening visibly. Ash's bruised face grinned over at him, and he set down his coffee, reaching up with both hands.

"Hit me right here, champ."

The kid's surprise was quickly replaced with a pleased, toothy grin of his own. Drawing back his arm, he aimed the bound up newspaper and threw it with all he had Ash's way. Ash's gloved hand snapped up and caught it right out of the air, bringing it back down and looking it over. Looking back up to the kid on the road.

"You've got an arm on you there, sport. Hope you made the baseball team."

"Thanks mister! Cool car! See you around!"

"Name's Ash, kid. And you just might, at this rate."

"Bye Ash!"

Still beaming, the kid got back on his bicycle and took off, continuing on his paper route. Ash watched him go, picking back up his cup and finishing it up, unrolling the newspaper. Glancing at the less than pleasant headline and article of the Springwood Gazette. Just then the volume of the Delta's radio turned down slightly. Ash turned his head around to spot the familiar, welcome little figure bending over inside the Oldsmobile. Rising back up again, leaving the door ajar and flashing him a bright smile.

"Already making new friends?"

Alice had come out to the driveway, no longer in her waitress uniform, but a long, tied up pink bathrobe. Her pale freckled face smiled back at him, the early rays of sun catching her fiery blow dried hair and brilliant blue eyes. Her makeup retouched. The way she looked and looked at him giving Ash pause. Almost as good, she brought a fresh pot of coffee with her and a cup of her own, holding out the pot. With another grin, Ash held out his empty cup and she refilled it, circling around and joining him on the back of the Delta. Shifting aside his luggage and sitting beside him, legs dangling over the front. She looked up and around at some of her neighbors unashamedly, and when she did they hurriedly looked away, at least pretending they weren't gawking at the pair. Of them, and her legs, of course.

"Just meeting your neighbors. Not so sure if they like me. They aren't chucking anything but newspapers just yet, though. Usually a good sign in my experience. You don't mind, do you?"

"Let them look. Give them something new to talk about for once, instead of me being a lousy single mother and possible lesbian with Yvonne. I'm used to their gossip. They're probably relieved you're finally here to make an honest woman of me."

Ash laughed loudly at that, and Alice smiled tiredly, before joining him. It was nice to hear her laugh... to know she still had it in her, after everything she'd been through. And... it pleased him that he still had it. That she brought it out of him. What had happened had happened, and what would, would. She was adjusted, even to something as crazy as her world. And her glimpse into his own. She was strong, but in a feminine sort of way.

It was a bit of a shock to know the woman in the Dream World was the same one sitting with him now. She seemed to wear many faces... and this morning the one that looked at him was gentle. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes... his own arm wrapping instinctively around her waist. They remained that way as long as they could. After a peaceful, long moment, where the rest of the staring neighborhood didn't exist, just them and the tunes coming out of the Oldsmobile, her soft voice reluctantly broke it.

"You should head inside and take a shower. Get ready. We have just over a half hour to get to the cemetery."

"Gotcha, Red."

Rubbing her shoulder, she retracted her head from his, and he handed her the unrolled newspaper. Her blue eyes scanned it, reading about Krueger's latest murders and the disappearances. Mouth tightening into a grimace.

"I've been to too many damn funerals."

"This one is my first. First professional job, anyways."

"It doesn't get easier. Even if you didn't know the person. And it shouldn't. Especially a child's."

"No. It shouldn't."

Ash reached out with his bandaged hand and stroked her hair fondly, managing to return her smile to her lips. Once he had, he rose from the Delta's trunk, retrieved his suitcase and took another sip from his cup of coffee. Moving around to the open door of the Classic, he leaned in and turned off the power, the radio falling silent. Putting the keys in his pocket he closed the door firmly and went back up to the front door, going through and closing it behind him. He took off his boots and made his way through the living room, past the kitchen and dining table and back down the hall.

Music from Yvonne's room emanated through the hall, muffled... 80's, naturally, and not particularly anything to his tastes. But to each were their own. If it didn't keep someone awake at least, nothing would. He went into the washroom and closed the door. Stripping down and firing up the shower, he climbed inside under the welcome hot water. Putting his face under the nozzle to wash the sleep out of his eyes. It was worth the pain it caused... the pain helped keep him awake too. It was one thing to stay awake working at the S-Mart, a late shift, it was another to keep going through the day doing more important things. Spending more energy doing it.

There was nothing monotonous about Springwood, no pattern to fall into that you could do half asleep. He was expending a good deal of energy here already. But didn't find it to be a bad thing. Humming to himself all the while, he washed and cleaned up, then turned off the tap, drying off and hanging up the towel.

Wiping off the condensation that had formed on the mirror, he grinned broadly, winked and finger gunned himself. He still looked great with facial injuries... it wasn't a surprise, but it was always welcome. Not many people could pull it off. And the new brand of dye he was trying seemed to be holding up. He still couldn't see any hint of the white at the side of his head, even down closer to the roots. He took the time to make sure the straps, buckles and braces on his arm were properly fastened and secure. Once he was assured, he opened up his suitcase, looking down at the dark suit and tie within.

He wasn't big on the formal wear, never had been... but at least the funeral was a hell of a better reason to wear it than some S-Mart thing. He got dressed rapidly, and put his jeans and bloodied shirt away inside the suitcase. Clasping it shut, he looked at himself in the mirror, straightening out his suit a bit. It wasn't terrible, but something was missing, and he knew just what it was. Stepping out of the bathroom, flicking off the light, he made for Alice's bedroom, to her closet. He stowed the suitcase away inside and reached up for his torn coat, for the pockets. Retrieving the sunglasses within and looking them over with satisfaction. He took the time to retrieve his cellphone as well... but switched it off. Last thing he needed was Jenny calling again at an especially inopportune time.

Tucking away the cellphone into his suit pocket, he closed up the closet again and turned for the door... but paused, catching sight of the photographs beside her bed again. He slowly made his way over to them, and looked them all over a second time. He didn't know all their names, but he recognized each of the faces... all of them had been in her dream, at the diner. And all of them were dead. He knew that now. His jaw tightened grimly, eyes settling on Dan's photograph... and he lowered his head slightly. Suddenly feeling a weariness.

Turning away he left the bedroom silently and closed the door behind him. Making his way back down the hall, he reached the dining table to find Jacob standing at it with a bowl with a spoon in it, a box of cereal and a carton of milk, and Alice coming out of the kitchen. She drew closer around the table towards him, beside Jacob. She wore a lovely long black dress, revealing the pale, smooth flesh of her arms and some of legs. He gave her a once over, before uttering a low, impressed wolf whistle.

"Looking good, Red."

"Looking sharp, Ash."

"Figured I'd try the secret agent look. If anyone can pull it off it's me."

"Almost."

Alice went up to him and took a few moments to adjust his tie for him, securing it properly. From the table Jacob watched it all with a wide smile. When Alice was done, Ash winked at her and went over and rubbed Jacob on the head fondly, messing up his normally neat black hair a bit. The boy's smile brightened, and Alice watching them from off to the side.

"Morning, Jacob. How's Yvonne doing, kiddo?"

"She's better. I'm just bringing her some cereal."

"How chivalrous. You're better at it than me. In that case...", Ash trailed off a bit, idea coming to mind, picking up the spoon from the empty bowl with his gloved hand and turning it around so the handle was ahead. He gently tapped Jacob's left shoulder, his right, and his left again. "In the name of God, Saint Michael and Saint George, l give you the right to bear arms and the power to mete justice."

"What is Chival... Chival...-

"Chivalry. Protecting the weak or the helpless. Loyalty. Courage. Strength. Helping an old man across a street. Carrying a pretty lady up the stairs. Whatever comes naturally. You'll know what it is when it happens. You're now the knight of the house anytime I'm away doing battle."

"Ok. I won't let you down Sir Ash."

"Couldn't if you tried, Sir Jacob." Ash smiled at his awed expression, putting the spoon back into his bowl. "Lady Alice and I Will be back before you know it."

Alice took the time to pour the cereal and milk into the bowl for Jacob, and carefully hand it to the boy. Once she had, she knelt own to kiss his cheeks, hugging him gently. Looking back into his eyes. Her own eyes, really. They both had the exact same pair.

"We'll see you soon, sweetie. Be good for mommy and Aunt Yvonne."

"Ok mommy. I will."

After another hug and kiss, Alice let him go, standing back up. Jacob moved carefully down the hall, reaching Yvonne's door and knocking on it. She opened it for him, appearing in the doorway and smiling at him, letting him past her. What little they could see of Yvonne nodded at them very slightly, and closed the door again. Once she did, Ash looked back over to Alice.

"Alright pretty lady. We have respects to pay, and a demon to hunt.", Ash spoke up, gesturing his gloved hand towards the door. "After you, Lady Alice."

"Gallant as ever, Sir Ash."

With a mock curtsy with her dress, Alice went to the door and Ash followed. Both of them stepping outside again, the bright rays hitting them as they closed the door. Ash withdrew his sunglasses and slipped them on as they went out to the Oldsmobile. To his surprise Alice did the same, withdrawing a small pair of round sunglasses from her dress and snapping them on. While Alice circled around to the passenger seat and got in, Ash looked around the neighborhood. It didn't take long for people to start looking again. He just smiled at them and got behind the wheel, closing up and buckling up. He turned the key just enough to power it, the music blaring again. He popped out the custom cassette, opened up the glove box near Alice, tucked it away inside and retrieved another, closing it back up. He popped in the fresh cassette tape and turned it back up. Within moments, The King was pouring out of the speaker.

"I thought you were an Elvis kind of guy."

"Hail to the King, baby."

"Good music tastes are a plus. For a 70's boy."

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

Firing up the Classic, Ash threw it in reverse and drove them past Yvonne's car and out on to the road. All the while the neighbors kept watching. He waved at one of the old ladies and grinned, before the Oldsmobile roared down the road through the neighborhood. Leaving it all behind... and the gossip no doubt already circulating.

* * *

Save for her directions now and again, the trip there was quiet. Nothing needed to be said. They knew the stakes... what was coming. And he had made her a promise. Now and again he stole a glance at her, eyes hidden safely behind the sunglasses. Still, there were times he was certain she knew he was watching. And that she was doing the same from behind her own pair. There was a quiet determination to her... resolve that most people her age didn't seem to have.

They pulled up to the Springwood Cemetery just in time... he navigated the Classic around the other cars, looking for a spot. Quite a few of them had shown up. They were still entering the grounds of the cemetery, all of them in black, walking up and being led to the graves. Ash found them a spot and parked the Delta... and at once him and Alice were out, locking up the doors as the cool wind settled over them. Together they made their way up from the parking lot and to the cemetery path, joining the rest of the arriving mourners silently. Slowly they were led further out into the cemetery... and just in the short distance she saw them all gathered around the spot. As they got closer, Alice seized his arm instinctively, leaning close and murmuring in his ear. Blue eyes above the slightly lowered sunglasses wider and horrified.

"Oh God. The paper didn't say it was a double funeral."

He followed her gaze... and sure enough there were two caskets side by side, waiting to be lowered into the earth. The closer they got, the more audible the weeping became of the various mourners. Older people, middle aged, young men and women and teenagers, kids alike were gathered at the scene. Like the two graves, two headstones rested beside one another... and reaching the crowd, him and Alice took a spot off to the side from the others. It seemed for the best. They were already strangers, intruders upon the grief of others who had actually known them. Through the shifting crowd, Ash caught sight of the two tombstones, and the words written on them.

**George Tyler Hughes**

_June 8th 1984 - September 9th 1994_

**William Jonathan Hughes**

_March 23rd 1977 – September 12th 1994_

Ash felt a deep, quickly forming sadness. Grimness. A cold spreading in the pit of his stomach. He kept his face inexpressive... and they stood there together, waiting for the ceremony to begin. He caught sight of the weeping mother, and the white faced, silent father. Looking ten years older than he was. He remembered the paper, that he had been arrested on suspicion of the murders... but had been cleared. Cleared in time to bury his sons. Such a comfort that must have been. When the last of the mourners trickled in, the Priest began.

Him and Alice listened to it all and watched it all, from off to the side together. She clasped his bandaged hand tightly, her flesh meeting his exposed fingers... and he squeezed back. The Priest's voice spoke words Ash knew, but drew no comfort from. And, looking over to Alice, he watched the tears flowing from her blue eyes silently. The sunglasses couldn't hide them, he saw them in his mind. The tears were steadily running down her cheeks. Guilt and remorse writ large on her tired face.

He squeezed her hand again, drawing over her teary gaze, and he stared hard at her. Tried to silently assure her that she wasn't alone in this. She seemed to understand... at least she nodded very slightly. Tried to smile slightly through her tears. By the time it ended, the coffins were gradually lowered into the earth. One after another the mourners filed by, placing roses on the graves, saying farewell, and hugging and speaking to the parents and other members of the family. Ash held Alice's hand as they went over for their turn. Alice was more articulate and better with such things than he was, taking some heartfelt time with both parents. Speaking with them.

When it was his turn, Ash simply murmured some cliche sympathetic words to the mother and father that they didn't really hear. He had never done this before... there had been no bodies left at the cabin to bury. He wasn't even sure there was a cabin left, after the vortex. Except in his nightmares. He didn't want to know one way or the other. All there had been was his word about what had happened there... which hadn't been good enough. Nothing he'd said mattered... so he'd stopped bothering.

He never got to bury his past... his past had buried him. When their turn was over they quickly withdrew from the others again, remaining off to the side. By now the tears had stopped flowing in her red rimmed eyes, but she kept her grip on his hand. Slowly, he looked around the crowd, among all the people for any sign of someone looking at them. Even with his facial injuries standing out and big glove, nobody looked at him funny. Not spotting anyone, he looked back over to Alice, who was removing her sunglasses, tucking them away.

"So? Where's this contact we're waiting on?"

"Down there. That's her."

Ash followed Alice's nod and eyes down the opposite side of the cemetery, some distance from the gathering and departing mourners. Down near one of the side exits, close to some bushes and a tree. A tall, thin, Goth girl dressed in a long black coat and tattered jeans stood down there, holding a decent sized cardboard box under one arm. Her ghostly white face scowled at them, expression hard, and looked away from them again. He wasn't sure he had ever seen someone who looked so angry and worn down. Deadites included. Waiting for her. Alice smoothly pulled him along down the rows of graves towards her. When they reached her over by the bushes, she finally turned to acknowledge them again.

"Didn't think you were showing up.", The disheveled teenager muttered under her breath. "Still not convinced you're going to do anything about it."

"We're here, aren't we? What's your name?"

"Annamaria Quinn.", She muttered back, looking slowly between Alice and him. Expression hardening. "Who's this beat up asshole? Your dad?"

"He's with me.", Alice answered before Ash could retort, squeezing his hand tighter. He closed his mouth and held his tongue, despite the multitude of colorful responses he had. This was her area of expertise, and territory. "Here to help. We're both after Krueger."

"You're gonna need more than one old guy. Or will you, 'Dream Master'? You can just set everything right with a snap of your fingers, can't you?"

She glared at Alice, daring her to answer, and Ash's eyes flickered her way as well. Her pale, freckled face remained impassive, calm. In that moment she was the woman who had pulled him down through the bed and into her dreams. As ancient as she was young.

"No... I can't. There are limitations in the greater Dream World. You probably know that. That applies even for me. And for Krueger. Our limitations are different."

"Some 'Dream Master'. Figured. It sure as fuck didn't look like Krueger had any limitations, last time I saw him.", The girl snapped derisively, looking past them and around in case anyone was watching. At last she looked at them again and shoved the box against Alice's stomach. "There, look through all that when you have the chance. But look through his journal right now. What you need is in there."

Alice's eyes flickered between the box and Ash, reluctantly letting go of his hand and taking the box from the girl. Reaching inside and taking out a thick journal sitting at the top. Making himself useful, Ash took the box for Alice so she could flip through the journal with both hands. She looked at him gratefully, raising the journal and opening it up and starting to scan through the pages.

"His name was Timothy Maloney. He was my boyfriend. He called himself The Chronicler in our dreams... wore a costume, made himself look and sound like a big dumb superhero. Muscles on muscles, deep voice, glowing eye, big guns, black cloak and slouch hat, a jaw like this old guy... but he still couldn't hide his personality." Annamaria's mouth twitched as she reminisced. Visibly repressing a smile. For the first time she didn't look so angry. "I was his part time sidekick and part time damsel in distress. It was fun. He was such a big nerd... comic lover and he liked to draw. He was my world. It was our world, together."

"My friend Mark was the same way. He created a character called the Phantom Prowler. It was picked up by Marvel Comics after he... well. He was very talented."

"Oh yeah?", She muttered without much care, reaching over to the journal and flipping through it to another page. Reaching it, she tapped her finger on the portrait that occupied it entirely. "What the fuck do you make of that character?"

Ash and Alice leaned down to look at the portrait. A face they both knew stared back at them... and her form. All of it colored appropriately. A pale, freckled redhead with gorgeous blue eyes stood staring back at them with hardened determination. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, she was dressed in an open black leather jacket with a grey, rippled cotton button up shirt beneath. Her right hand carried a pair of twirling wooden nunchucks, while the left hand down at her side was balled into a fist. It was bound in a white headband with a Japanese flag imbued on it... while at that wrist she wore a spiked wristband. She wore tight, torn blue jeans held up by a studded belt with a strange metal object clipped to it's side, and a pair of black combat boots. There was no fear, or hesitation in her face... she looked at him the way she had looked at him in the diner. Written above it was comic book style bold lettering, giving a superhero's name.

**The Dream Master**

He glanced to Alice, watching her lips slowly part with alarm, as Annamaria went on coldly.

"Not his only drawing of you in there. Or Krueger. Somehow, he dreamed of you, 'Dream Master'. Talked about you all the time. Worshiped the fucking ground you walked on. Figured you out. He spread the word about you... like he was a goddamn priest spreading the Gospel. Your servant. One of the many you had in your absence, anyways. I'm sure you love hearing that, don't you, Saint Alice of Springwood?"

The tired girl was quite awake by now, eyes all but bulging. Livid and alive with coiling rage she was barely holding back, every word venomous. Alice stared at the picture of herself for a long time, looking between it, and the unstable girl before her. A troubled, saddened shadow flitting over her face. Slowly, she shook her head and sighed.

"I didn't ask for this. Any of it. I didn't want this."

"You got it all the same. Now your devout are dead. Worse than dead because you didn't answer their prayers. They tried to follow your example, to fight him, but you were silent... and who could compare to you? Right? I loved him more than air it's self, and I still couldn't measure up to you. Now he's gone and I'm still here."

Alice was silent again... her mouth tightening, before slowly turning the page again with a low, weary breath. Taking the time to flip through and scan some of the other pages. Ash caught some occasional writings, drawings, but it was her he was looking at. Annamaria was doing the same... her face a mask of mixed emotion. Grief, fear and hate. And envy. Awe. He saw it there too. She must have looked up to Alice every bit as much as her boyfriend had... now her faith was burnt. Finally Alice spoke again, eyes raising to Annamaria, voice subdued.

"How were you all able to enter each other's dreams?"

"Shouldn't you know?"

"I knew a girl who could. She gave that power to me. I didn't know that it was a common one."

"You've been gone for years, I bet you wouldn't know. I don't really know either. Maybe you and Krueger fucked up the Dream World with your battles, and we are the result of it trying to correct it's self. Maybe it's because you weren't doing your job, and it was left for us to try to follow in your shadow. You're supposed to be the dream expert here."

"Who are the Dream Police?"

"Bill formed them. Him and his friends and anyone who measured up with the clique.", Annamaria answered with disdain, glowering beyond them to the remaining mourners. The remaining teenagers there. "A gang of thugs by any other name, banding together. In dreams instead of reality. Their little power fantasy."

"Teenage delinquents were running around the Dream World?"

"Yeah. You know that idiot always said he was the new Dream Master? I think he believed it too. It pissed Tim off, probably why he did it. They hated each other. Tim didn't want the Dream Police spending time around Krueger. He tried to warn them but nobody took him seriously. Krueger was a clown, a joke... an old has been. You saw to that, didn't you?"

"They were doing _what_ with Krueger?"

"Making a game of it. They went down to Krueger's boiler room and beat the shit out of him whenever they felt like it. Mocked him, tortured him, tried to get what he knew out of him. His secrets. He couldn't fight back... he was old and decrepit, nobody was afraid of him. Whenever he tried his claws would just pass right through the person. And all he got for it was another beating. Eventually he gave up. He used to venture outside the boiler room, into the rest of the Dream World. Went on walks. Tim and I saw him as he was, dragging himself along, once. It was pathetic. He stopped doing that after the Dream Police were formed."

Alice's expression was impassive. Ash was no psychic, but he had the feeling they were thinking along the same lines. There was no love lost for Krueger, he had deserved it. Deserved much worse. But these stupid kids had been fucking around with something they really shouldn't have been. He had that painful experience for himself. It was impressive to see how much stupider they had been than him with the book.

"I thought Krueger was nothing anymore too... most of us did... but then the killings started again. One after another. Most of them were flat out disappearances. At first their bodies remained in their beds, but the more powerful he got they started vanishing in their beds. It started with George. Bill had the bright fucking idea to try to initiate his poor kid brother into the gang. The initiation? A visit to Old Man Krueger's boiler room. I don't know how exactly it happened, we weren't there, but George must had been a bit afraid of him. Afraid enough."

She laughed at that bitterly. A chill ran along Ash's spine... and the way Alice looked at him then she must have felt it too. She nodded almost imperceptibly. Blue eyes returning to Annamaria.

"What happened next?"

"Krueger lost his fucking mind after killing George, that's what happened next. Or maybe the Dream Police did that to him... or maybe it was because of what you did to him the last time. Or maybe he never had it. Either way, it was power enough to create some fear. He reaved his way across the dreamscape. Fed on the growing fear, one soul at a time. Each kill made it worse, teenagers realizing they weren't immune anymore. The Dream Police tried to stop him, but they became afraid of him, everyone did. And what he did to Bill..."

She paused and slowly shook her head, looking deeply disturbed. Alice gave her the time she needed to gather herself. When she did, she looked back up between them tiredly, and back to Alice, her voice more hollow.

"Tim told those of us left that you would set everything right. That you alone could. That you were the only person Krueger was afraid of. I believed him like an idiot. We were looking for you when he... when he...-"

Annamaria trailed off. Staring somewhere beyond them, face twitching. Trying to keep in control of herself. Ash averted his eyes back down to the journal Alice was reading through. It was an eccentric scrawl that was a bit difficult to understand, but Alice didn't seem to have that problem. Something faint that looked like triumph flashed in her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"Please tell me more about the Coma Pit, Annamaria. Why is Krueger so afraid of it?"

"The Chronicler... found it with the Dream Police's help, a couple years ago. They took all the credit of course. It's a dark, ancient place in a cavern, where the souls... minds... of people in vegetative states seem to go. That's how Tim found it. A kid at our school got into a car accident... ended up in a coma. Tim went looking for him, with some help from the others. They found that place instead of him directly. Maybe it's to protect the vulnerable comatose from the greater Dream World. To put them out of the reach of things like Krueger. If there are any others like him. So much of what we have in that box is speculation."

"The gate only seems to open when someone becomes comatose, their soul enters the Pit. When that person dies, the Pit opens again and releases the soul. It's... beautiful. Their souls. Every color of the rainbow, and more. Living light. Starlight. Tim and I would go often and watch it together. Sometimes he had to pull me back from getting too close. I don't know why Krueger should fear it. Maybe the Dream Police knew, they spent the most time visiting the old fucker, but they didn't tell us exactly what was said. But as long as we were there, we were safe. We only discovered that too late... by then he had killed so many of us. Nobody was thinking clearly in their fear. Order broke down. It was every teenager for themselves. Just how he wanted it."

"Why didn't you and Tim just stay there in the cavern? Krueger wouldn't have been able to reach you."

"Because you can't stay in the cavern indefinitely. We're not meant to be there. If you stay too long it corrects it's self. Pushed us out back into our own dreams. There are rules. Maybe they're different for you, but they weren't for us.. We weren't 'special' like you. Just two more loser teenagers."

Slowly, Alice nodded, looked back up from the journal, closing it with a snap, and placing it into the box in Ash's arms. She has seen enough. He saw the resolve harden in her again. The Dream Master from the drawing returned. Something about the way she looked at the girl made Anna freeze.

"We need you to show us the Coma Pit, Anna. You have the memory inside you, your dreams. Share that knowledge with us, that burden. Then we'll be able to go there anytime we need. Do what needs to be done."

"What, Alice doesn't know her own way through Wonderland? Give me a fucking break."

"I've never been there. There is so much about the Dream World I still don't know or understand. You know where it is. You and the Chronicler gathered all this in my absence. Did such good work. You're the only one left who can show us. You can give us the means to set this right again."

"You think you can open the fucking thing on your own? You said you can't do everything."

"I have to try, Anna. Isn't that what Tim wanted? Isn't that why you came to me?"

Anna looked away, unable to hold her gaze. Alice gave her the time she needed again. Eventually, she drew in a breath, as though drawing on what reserve strength she had left.

"Tell me one thing. Suppose you both find a way to get Krueger down there. Suppose you find a way to open it. Suppose you find a way to match his strength, his powers. Are you going to push that motherfucker screaming into the Pit? Close it on his burnt ass and seal him away for good?"

She stared back at them hard, eyes narrowing. A cold fury visible across her entire face. Alice and Ash looked at one another. And the answer came to them naturally. Looking back at the girl together.

"Yes.", They both answered at the same time. Resolute.

For the first time, Annamaria smiled sadly at them through her tears. Laughing her bitter laugh again. She wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve, trying to gather her breathing. When she spoke again, she nodded gratefully.

"Good. That's good. I'll do it, then. For all the good it'll do you. Tonight. You'll know when, I'm sure. How to find me. I'll be waiting at the Pit's entrance. The risks don't matter anymore. I don't have anything left to live for anyways. And I'm so tired. I can't go another night."

"That's not true, Anna. You need to be careful. Be as safe as possible in there... don't let Krueger have what he wants. People's lives have meaning, not their deaths. You have so much left in life to live for... left to do. You're so young. You must know that."

"What I know is they're all dead because you, 'Dream Master'. I watched it happen.", Her voice went cold and dead again. "He made me watch. He kept me alive long enough to see it all. Because you fucked up and didn't do what you were supposed to in the first place. Live with that, or die with it. I don't care which."

Annamaria glared at Alice and Ash hatefully and turned on her boot, striding away through the bushes she had come through. Gone as suddenly as she had appeared in the cemetery. Ash watched Alice watch her go silently. Her face was still and grave... infused with an ancient sadness, guilt. Ash remained silent, but settled his gloved hand on her back... trying to support her quietly. Not knowing what to say about what had transpired. He felt an intruder in it, the outsider. And knew he was. Her tired eyes looked up at him gratefully... studying his bruised face as though searching it's depths. And searching herself. Finally, coming to a decision.

"There's something I need to show you, Ash. Tell you."

"What is it?"

"_Everything_."

"Lead the way."

She took his bandaged hand once more and led him in the other direction, back through the cemetery. Closer towards the middle, still some ways from the lingering mourners. He willed himself not to look at them... hearing their grief was enough. Intruding upon it. One row after another they walked together, past the resting dead. He looked up and down each row, and more than he ever had he wished he could spot Cheryl's grave among them. To know she was at peace in a quiet place like this. But that had been taken away, with everything else. Eventually, she reached a section of the cemetery, coming to a stop, keeping her fingers intertwined through his. He followed her gaze to a couple nearby rows in particular. A tree standing not too far beyond them.

"This plot. They were all buried here close to each other. The arrangements were made. Our group, and those who fought him before. We thought it best they all be laid to rest together. God knows how many other graves are in this cemetery because of him. Look at their names and remember them. As I do. It's all we can do, to make sure it wasn't in vain. That he doesn't win."

She rose her other hand, pointing them out. One at a time. Each of them surely committed to memory. Fresh in her mind, even when she was far away from the cemetery, following her into her dreams. Putting names to most of the faces he had seen in her safe place... and by her bedside table. Slowly, he took off his sunglasses, tucking them away into his suit's pocket.

"Nancy and her father sacrificed themselves to try to stop Krueger... to save the people buried here. Nancy was the first of us to face him. For a time, their sacrifice succeeded. Krueger was put to rest. But it couldn't last. I never knew them... I wish I had. I only found out about them later."

_**Donald Thompson**_

_1941 - 1987_

_**Nancy Thompson**_

_1965 - 1987_

"Jesse Walsh and Lisa Webber should probably be here... but they aren't. I don't know what became of them. Where they are, if they lived. Like I said, they vanished. All I hope is they're somewhere better than Springwood."

Alice shook her head slowly at that... and he understood that kind of pain. Even if she hadn't known them, it made no difference. Not knowing what had happened to a person was in many ways worse than knowing. Daring to hope, while fearing to. Fearing to feel like a fool for hoping. The unknown.

_**Roland Kincaid**_

_1971 - 1988_

_**Joeseph Crusel**_

_1971 - 1988_

_**Kristen Parker**_

_1971 - 1988_

"Kristen, Joey and Kincaid were the last of the Elm Street Children. Kristen was my brother's girlfriend... and a close friend of mine. The three of them had been locked up at Westin Hills Asylum for sleep disorders, along with the other remaining Elm Street kids. Their graves are around this section as well. I never knew them. With Nancy's help they discovered their dream powers and became a group they called the Dream Warriors. Became everything the Dream Police weren't."

"They fought Krueger... and he killed most of them. Kristen, Joey and Kincaid alone survived because of Nancy's sacrifice. When Krueger came back again... he killed Kincaid and Joey on the same night. Kristen tried to warn me about him, about all this... I didn't understand. The night Kristen died she drew me into her dream, as I did with you. Krueger murdered her, forced me to watch him take her soul. As she died she transferred her power to me. Krueger planned it that way... for me to be his conduit to reaching beyond the Elm Street Children. It worked... for awhile. "

_**Sheila Kopecky**_

_1971 - 1988_

_**Rick Johnson**_

_1970 - 1988_

_**Debbie Stevens**_

_1971 - 1988_

Ash's eyes froze on Rick's grave... closing his eyes and understanding. Deep sympathy rushing through him. His jaw tightening grimly. He squeezed her hand gently, looking back from the grave and to her. She looked up at him very slightly, and nodded... older again than she looked. Her voice low and hollow.

"He murdered my friend Sheila in front of me in the middle of class... suffocated her with a kiss. He murdered my big brother... stabbed him with those gloves. Then he murdered Debbie. Again he took their souls, and I gained their powers. Aspects of their personalities as well. He nearly murdered Dan... but I fought him... stopped him just in time. Set free all the souls he had gathered to that point. They all tore him to pieces as they escaped. I never imagined he could come back from something like that. But he did. The bastard did it _again_. And then he took away the life I was trying to rebuild. What little he hadn't taken away from me already."

_**Dan Jordan**_

_1971 – 1989_

_**Greta Gibson**_

_1971 - 1989_

_**Mark Gray**_

_1971 - 1989_

Her eyes settled on three... but remained on Dan's. The grief was a mask on her face. It had to be as painful now as it had been when it had happened. As Linda was for him. It would always be a raw wound. She squeezed his hand for support, and he squeezed it back... wishing he could say something to help... but knowing that listening was the only way to do so. It was a miserable feeling. She needed to get the poison out of her. A bit at a time. In that moment, she wasn't the Dream Master anymore... the warrior of the drawing... but a sad, tired, lonely girl.

"I was eighteen... we were graduating... at long last. The future seemed so bright, for all of us. Mark was going to be a famous comic artist. Greta was going to be a model... though it was more her mother's idea than hers. Yvonne was in our group as well, the same as she is now. It always amazes me how little she changed even after all that. She has always been an anchor for me and Jacob."

"Dan and I had a trip planned to Europe after graduation. We were going to escape from Springwood for awhile. Make some new memories. My father had quit drinking for me, and we bonded again. Made up for the past. For what felt the first time in years, since my mom died, we were a father and daughter again. And we had a new family, all of us. We were moving forward, from everything that had happened before. My life had never been brighter... and I don't think it ever will be again."

Alice paused, drawing a low breath. Attempting to steady herself... looking between Rick's grave and Dan's. When she was ready, she forced herself forward with pained difficulty. Lowering her gaze steadily. Lost in tormenting memory.

"That's when the nightmares started again. He came for Dan first. I had called him... asked him to come to me at the diner. To help me... the nightmares had been getting worse. I needed him. To feel protected. I was making a pot of coffee when I felt him die. Saw his soul falling... screaming for me. He was... twisted. Changed. Merged with machinery... mutilated. He'd fallen asleep driving. At the same moment, he crashed his truck just outside the diner into another one. He was killed instantly. I ran out in a blind daze... I saw him there, trapped upside down in the truck... burning. Krueger possessed his broken body for a moment... just to mock me."

Ash's jaw tightened into a sour grimace. He vividly remembered looking down at Linda's head in the vice grip... alternating between the woman she had been... the woman he had loved... and the monster they had made her. Her pleading. And the vile things she spewed at him. The torment her soul was in... and probably still was in. It didn't matter which type of demon it was. Nightmare Lich or Deadite. They were all just low down rotten bastards like that. Following the same playbook.

"He never found out about Jacob. Never knew. Maybe, if I hadn't called him...-

"It wouldn't have made a difference.", Ash intervened quietly at last, pressing her hand to her chin and tilting it up gently. Raising those watery blue eyes to look at him. They silently beseeched him for something she needed from him. Something he wanted to give her. "He just would have done it another way. Another time."

Alice tentatively nodded. He had the feeling she already knew that... but needed to hear it aloud from someone else. To make it real to herself. She set her hand on his shoulder, keeping it there, breathing slower. Trying to relax herself enough to continue. They peered back at one another for a time... in that strangely comfortable silence. Even here and now, of all times and places.

"Then he came for Greta at a dinner party... force fed her until she suffocated to death in the real world. I saw her soul again, at the same moment... bursting from my refrigerator. Made grotesque. I tried to pull her away from him, and he pulled her back in. After that, he came for Mark. Mark had loved Greta... had always wanted to tell her that, but hadn't been able to. He tried to resist Krueger as the heroic Phantom Prowler... tapped into his Dream Warrior powers... he was always the most imaginative of us. It wasn't enough... he was too afraid for it to work. I was sleeping in the same room when it happened. Krueger cut him into pieces. I still hear him laughing... and when I woke up... Mark's body...-

She gripped his shoulder harder to steady herself. She didn't need to go on. He knew. And from their held gaze, she knew that he did. The poor bastard's body had been dismembered, just like he had been in the dream. Krueger had left the mess there for her to see... to wake up to. One of her best friends butchered alive in his sleep. He wished he could say he wasn't already long ago used to things like that. All he could do was remain silent, and be there for her. His fingers tenderly began to rub along her cheek, and trace her quivering lower lip. Trying and hoping he was soothing enough. Her eyes began to relax... close partially... and she went on again a bit at a time. Willing herself.

"I already told you what he did to Jacob, tried to do. How close it was. We stopped him... set Dan, Greta and Mark free. I still don't know how we really survived. By the time it was over, it was just me, Yvonne, Jacob and my father. And that's the way it's been ever since. Dan's parents are still around, they see Jacob periodically. We come out here together sometimes... but Jacob has no memory of his father. None that are his own. He's smarter than me like that already. Knows the difference between reality and dreams. Doesn't delude himself. For me... it all blurs together most of the time. I let myself get lost in comforting illusions, dreams... Alice the dreamer. I don't think I ever stopped being that introverted little girl, somehow... even as I've watched myself changing. Changing into something that frightens me... and exhilarates me."

Her eyes fell back down to the box he held off to the side under one arm. Looking over the books, papers and journal that sat on top. Slowly, wearily shaking her head.

"Anna was right. I've been away from the greater Dream World too long, Ash. Look at the ruin I let happen to it. How many of them did he take already? Dozens of disappearances at least. More than he ever has, in a shorter span.", Alice murmured, gradually looking away from the box and back to him. "Those kids needed me and I wasn't there. In my absence, others tried to take up my sword... and they were crushed beneath it's weight. Trying to carry a fate... a burden that wasn't theirs. They looked up to me, and I failed them."

"You couldn't have known. How could you have?"

"I _should_ have. Or I should have at least tried, should have looked... and I didn't. If I had found Krueger first, in that decrepit form of his, instead of the Dream Police... maybe I could have finally destroyed him. Once and for all. Or maybe I could have brought the Dream Police and the others to heel. Taught them, trained them... made them Dream Warriors... like Nancy taught the others. Organized them. I'm not the leader she was. She would have known exactly what to do. Her and Kristen. One of them should have been the Dream Master, not me."

"Look at everything you've been through. Survived. You and Jacob. Everything you've lost and sacrificed. You don't owe anyone anything, Alice. To spend your life guarding an entire realm... while trying to raise a son and live a life in the other. You didn't ask to be the Dream Master."

"No. But I am. And we can only be what we are, Ash. Whether we chose it or not. I think you understand that. That rule applies even to something like Krueger. He can't help himself. He really can't. I don't know how much choice factors into anything. Maybe I'm too jaded and numb by now. I'm the fuck up here, between us. Not you. I'm only twenty four, and I feel so old and tired almost all the time. I'm at least four other people in one mind including my own brother. And that's not even counting Alice The Dream Master, Alice The Mother and Alice The Dreamer. The weight of a world is on my shoulders. I'm trying. But it's all too much. Krueger knows that, he's wearing me down. He is tireless, immortal... and I'm not. All he has to do is wait me out. And then he wins."

"Guess I'll just have to carry it with you to the finish line. Then we dangerously sexy fucked up demon attracting types can drop it on top that burnt bastard together."

Her eyes snapped up and stared back at him, he merely met it with an expectant look. Looking as though she wanted to say something... lips parting. And then a tired, slight laugh escaped instead. Genuine... welcome relief. Catharsis. He felt the pressure seeping from her like a release valve had been turned. And he felt pleasure to no end to cause it. Brought a good feeling to her.

"You always know what to tell a girl, don't you?", Alice smiled at him again... a portion of the sorrow and exhaustion slowly evaporating. Warmth replacing it. He felt himself grinning right back at her... the warmth was contagious. "Another plus for you on the tally."

"Man of many talents. Stick around, doll. You haven't seen anything yet. I save the best for last."

"I believe you. You're one weird son of a bitch. Kinda gets me off. Probably the Debbie in me... and a healthy amount of Rick. He liked them strange. The way he was with Kristen."

"_I'm_ the weird one?", Ash countered with amused incredulity, unable to repress a laugh of his own. "All the bombshells you've dropped on me since I got here? I came to an Ohio paradise for some fresh air and peace and quiet. Then I meet a cute, shy little waitress and she splashes a cup of demon possession, dream worlds and a nice helping of split personality in my face... instead of the usual hot coffee in my lap. I've only been in this goddamn Bermuda Triangle town a day and look what's happening here."

"And you wouldn't have it any other way. Have you thought about your S-Mart conference, speech or calling Jenny since you got here and met me? Mmmhm. That's what I thought. You're a weird weirdness magnet. And I never said you were the only one of those standing here, now did I? You bring it out in me. You have no idea how hard it's been trying to look normal all the time. Seem normal. How much of a relief it is not to have to with someone."

"Touche, smartass."

"Beats a dumbass."

"Try a badass."

They fell into another comfortable, warm silence together, the tension of before put at ease. Both of them looking over the graves of the Dream Warriors and their allies, He found himself wishing he had been able to meet them. What was happening here was a more noble cause than his had been. His had mostly just been about survival and getting home... being dropped in the worst scenario and doing what he had to. She was actively trying to save two entire worlds... even with all the baggage that had piled up and come with it. He wanted to believe there was something more here in Springwood... that her and Jacob were right. He just didn't know. And wasn't sure if he wanted to. Her gaze lowered upon Dan's grave... directly in front of her. She pursed her lips... a moment of something conflicted passing over her pretty, freckled face. Thinking it over and choosing her words. Speaking as much to herself as to him.

"Look. It's been five years. And apart from Jacob, my father and Yvonne, all I've had is my dreams to comfort me in that time. Dan... would understand. He would have wanted me to be happy, again. All we can do is appreciate life. What we still have. Who we still have in it. Make the most of it while we have it. The things Krueger hates and can't possibly understand. I never felt that more, than after both times I faced him. While he lurked in those dark places and hatred afterwards... I lived and loved. I tried. Dared to dream. To hope. Hope and security are a good things, Ashley... fragile and scary things... but maybe the best of things. And somehow, Jacob and I already feel those things again... with you."

At last, not waiting for his response, nor time to consider the implications her words, she turned from the graves of her fallen friends, family and partner and back to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist... and his free one settled around her shoulders on instinct. Plucking his sunglasses out of his suit pocket, she reached them up and slipped them back on him cheekily. Those eyes, every blue in the world, looked at him fondly... and she smiled in spite of it all. Beamed brighter than the sunlight streaming into the cemetery.

"Come on, Sir Ash. Let's let the dead keep resting in peace. There's no rest or peace for the weary... until they earn it. There's someone I want you to meet before we go home. He'll help us get ready for tonight. Give us an extra option, at least. Just in case."

"Never hurts to get a second opinion, Lady Alice. Who is he?

"A friend."

* * *

"He's a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders. He helped Kristen, Joey and Kincaid at Westin Hills. Helped Nancy with them, with creating the Dream Warriors. Amanda Krueger first made contact with him, gave him the means to defeat Krueger during that killing spree. Just as she helped me two years later. Nancy's father died assisting him in that. They buried Krueger's demonic bones and performed a holy ritual. It worked... for awhile."

It was just past the afternoon by the time they reached downtown again. At some point they passed the Crave Inn again, but Alice's eyes didn't even flicker towards it. Alice sat in the passenger side digging through the Goth chick's dirty laundry. Thumbing through the journal and some of the other papers and notebooks. If he had to guess which personality was mostly taking over at the moment, it was the nerdy looking girl he'd seen in the diner and the pictures. It drew a small smile to his lips.

"When I last fought Krueger, Mark did a great deal of research on everything up to that point. That's how I found out about him. I went to meet him eventually, we had some common connections, and I found out his part in all this. Turn there, just off that street."

Ash's attention snapped back off her and to the road, trying to focus. He made the turn, feeling her eyes on him as well. There was something about having her watching him... he didn't even have to look back to feel it. She lowered the box of journals and evidence down to the Delta's floorboard again and pointed out towards the side of the street the house was on. A nice neighborhood, but then every one of them in Springwood seemed to be. Maybe it was just masking how insane the place was proving for him. At her instruction, he pulled up the driveway of a particular house... and reaching it, put the Classic in park. The two of them unbuckled and got out, closing the doors, the afternoon sunlight streaming over them and the place. Removing his sunglasses he tucked them into his suit and looked across the hood to her on the other side. Between her and the impressive house that awaited them, uttering a low whistle.

"Not a bad setup."

"Come on. Right this way."

Rounding the Delta she took his hand and led him up towards the front steps. Ascending them together and reaching the door, he made to stand back behind her, but a firm tug at his wrist prevented it. He remained where he was at her side as she lowered her hand from his wrist, and rang the doorbell. A man came out in a white shirt with suspenders holding up a pair of dark trousers. He was in his early to mid forties with thick brown hair flecked with some grey. His face had deep, premature lines from stresses... he had the appearance of a man who looked older than he was. He stared back at Ash's bruised, cut up face with puzzlement... which quickly evaporated when he saw the redhead in the black dress. Alice flashed him a wide smile and held her arms open to him.

"Hello Neil. Long time no see."

"Alice! What a delightful surprise.", The older man smiled back at her as she leaned in to hug him. Leaning in with a laugh he wrapped his arms right back around her. "I wasn't expecting you at all. It's been too long."

His eyes rose to over her shoulder, looking right back at Ash with the same curiosity. When they drew apart, Alice returned to his side and gently set her hand on his shoulder.

"Ash, this is Doctor Neil Gordon.", She beamed, looking between the two men. "Neil, this is-

"Ashley J. Williams. S-Mart Managerial Assistant. Housewares.", Ash interrupted briskly, thrusting out his bandaged hand to the man. Though it was the big gloved right one the doctor spent more time looking at speculatively. If he had a penny for every time someone did. "You can call me Ash. Good to meet you, doc. Nice place. Get the paint from our Springwood branch?"

"Uh... thank you. Any friend of Alice's is one of mine.", The doctor finally said after a pause, extending his own hand and shaking Ash's with a polite nod and smile, looking between him and Alice. Then his smile deepened and he stood back in the doorway, gesturing within. "Please, come in."

Alice flashed him a smile and tugged Ash inside the front door. Taking off her shoes and Ash doing the same as the doctor closed up the door behind them. He felt the doctor's eyes watching him as she drew Ash into the house, down to the front room with Gordon following suit, the two of them talking. Ash for his part kept quiet... they were old friends, and as ever he was the outsider.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, Neil, or contact you sooner. I didn't mean to drop in on you out of the blue."

"Think nothing of it. That's the life of the mother and waitress. I didn't exactly call you up myself. My work has been keeping me much too busy to get in touch as well. It's been a little hectic."

"How's Max? Is he still around the place?"

"The man's a permanent fixture. He's doing just fine, getting on well with the new kids. Was there something you needed, Alice?"

"Yes. Your time... and one other thing."

They reached the front room and Doctor Gordon gestured for them to take a seat on the couch, while he settled down on a chair close by. Once they had gotten settled, Gordon's eyes and Ash's fell on Alice. She was silent for a long moment, mulling it over... before coming outright with it, looking back at the doctor.

"I'll get to the point. It's Krueger, Neil. He's back again. He's already killed a number of teenagers. Ash and I just came here from one of the funerals."

A silence settled over the house, with Ash looking between them. Something deeply troubled passed over Gordon's features... a shadow... mouth tightening grimly, but there was no disbelief in his expression. All at once he looked more tired than either of them, leaning back in his seat, rubbing his face and breathing a low sigh of weariness.

"How can that be, Alice? Why?"

"That's what I've been looking into. I found out a number of teenagers and kids have been roaming the greater Dream World, finding their powers there. They found him... he was weak after our last encounter, and they all stopped fearing him. Something went wrong and he became powerful again. He's stronger than he was before. He's making most of his victims disappear outright. Pulling them into his world. Have any of your patients been taken? Anything strange at all?"

"No. My patients are quite safe. Sleeping dreamless nights. The trials of Hypnocil were completed awhile ago. We're making major scientific strides, and gradual gains, legitimacy in the medical community. I've convinced a number of doctors of it's worth, potential. Like Nancy would have wanted. Maybe in time it will see wider distribution, for those in need."

Doctor Gordon hesitated, looking between Ash and Alice for a long moment. Then he looked off in the distance, seeing something else. Shaking his head slowly.

"Krueger... damn it. I hoped and prayed he wouldn't come back. But I should have known better. I couldn't stop him for long. It seems all we can ever do is keep delaying him. Buying time. But you're much better equipped to fight him than I am. So, how can a tired old doctor help you, Dream Master? Just name it."

"I need a prescription of Hypnocil, Neil.", She smiled over at him gratefully, settling back in her seat. "And I need it right now."

"Jacob is only five, right? I can't prescribe the medication for anyone under thirteen. You know the risks at that age range."

"No. It's for my friend Yvonne... and for my father. To keep them safe, just in case. Krueger is afraid to come for Jacob. He knows it will mean facing me. It's Ash he wants."

"Him? Why?", Gordon asked with surprise, casting a doubtful glance Ash's way. "And just in case what? What are you trying to do?"

"It's complicated. To say the least.", Alice smiled wryly, looking between the two. The understatement of the decade. "But Amanda came to Jacob in his dreams yesterday. Told him that Ash was coming to help us... and he's here. I trust her with my life... and I know you do as well. She helped us both."

"Amanda? Yes... I expect it would be complicated, then.", Gordon replied after a long pause to think it over. Finally, he rose from his seat and nodded, looking down between them again. Not a hint of hesitance to him."Alright. I'll help you. For you and Jacob. For the lost."

"Thank you, Neil."

"Of course. If you'll just give me a bit, I'll go write you up a legal prescription. Wouldn't want you getting in trouble. Well... more of it. And in this world. One is bad enough."

With a slight chuckle, Doctor Gordon smiled at both of them, turned and went into one of the halls, vanishing beyond it. When he was gone, Ash looked around the spacious interior of the place... to the furnishments and items. It was obvious enough he lived there alone... there was no hint of a family. Nor any sign of shadiness. He looked back over to Alice slowly, cracking a smile.

"When you said 'friend', I didn't think you meant a friendly neighbourhood drug dealer."

"Neil is a good man, very trustworthy, not a drug dealer. He knows the stakes and was fighting Krueger before I was. He takes good care of his patients... I've seen him with them."

"Hey, I'm not judging. Show me a handful of pills, I'm down for a good time."

"I'm afraid you and me are going to have to abstain."

"I thought you might say that. Abstain from the pills only, right?"

That made her return his grin, but she said nothing, shaking her head. Ash leaned back against the couch, uttering a low, subdued breath. Thinking it all over. Hypnocil. If Springwood was like this, why the hell wasn't the whole town on it? Sounded like some kind of miracle drug, if it could ward off nightmare demons.

"If I'd known the solution to all this was as simple as a drug..." Then Ash had another thought. Slowly looking over to her with mock accusation. "Why did you lie to him?"

"Pardon?", Alice started, looking over at him with confusion, pursing her lips. "Where did I lie?"

"It's not me Krueger is after. It's you and Jacob. Yvonne and your father. The people you love. The people he can use to get under your skin. I'm just his means of trying to accomplish that. Nothing more."

For some reason a slight flush crept slowly across her face and to her cheeks. It didn't seem to be anger at his half joking accusation... she stared back at him for a time searchingly. Visibly thinking something over deeply, speaking slowly.

"You're not just a means, Ash. You're a person. What I said to Annamaria back there is the truth. It applies as much to you. Your life has meaning. Krueger wants to turn you into a thing. A tool, dehumanize you for his own purposes. To get inside your head and make you something you aren't."

"He wouldn't be the first to try."

"I know. But he'll be the last. If I have anything to say about it."

"If we take the drugs, we never dream again, right? Didn't that creepy nursery rhyme mention that?" Ash remembered, thinking back to the creepy little girls skipping rope. "If we do that, we beat him. He can never get us, like he wants. He needs me to get to you."

"The Hypnocil is only a temporary solution. The nursery rhyme means Krueger wants everyone so afraid they don't dream again, or dead. Either way the death of the Dream World. And if you and I take the drugs, he simply keeps killing every child and teenager in Springwood who isn't just to get to me. And maybe he finds another way out of Springwood I don't know about. Someone else. We take the drugs, nothing will be able to stop him from continuing to try. Or slow him down at least. Nothing will change if everyone takes Hypnocil. Even in the impossible scenario that everyone on the planet took Hypnocil, he still wins, because everyone would be deprived of their dreams. The Dream World does _not_ belong to Krueger. People's dreams are their own, everyone has the right to their dreams. And while I live, they will continue to."

"You're playing right into his hands if you go to him."

"No matter _what_ I do I'm playing into his hands. Don't you see? That's who he is. That's what he is. He takes good and beauty and perverts it. Makes it hideous, like him. Once, he showed me the Crave Inn through his eyes, how he saw it. Decrepit, cobwebbed, rusty... and me, still working there as an old woman. He tried to corrupt my safe place where I made so many memories, and prey on my fear of not going anywhere in life. He can't create, he can only warp and take. I saw the beauty and humanity in your dreams, your memories, the good... I asked you to show me and you consented. He forcibly tore your darkest memories from your skull and shoved them in your face for his own amusement, to hurt you. To try to take you from me. I've hidden from him for too long. Look how powerful he has become because of it."

"You didn't avoid him before because you were afraid, or deliberately neglecting your duties. You did it because you didn't want to risk waking him again, didn't you? He already used you and Jacob before for that."

Alice thought about that in silence for a time. Conflict in her expression at first as she looked at him. Regret was etched deeply into her features next... but with it came something else. The personality he had seen in the Dream World. In her special place. When she spoke again, he'd never heard her more resolved. And he hung on to every word in silence.

"Yes. And I was wrong. And many people have paid for my choice. It was a mistake. It wasn't me... who I am. It can't be. I have to be _me_, Ashley. What I was supposed to be. What I'm supposed to do. I am the Dream Master. Not just Alice the waitress and single mother. Alice the dreamer. Or the four other people forever in my head. I don't know if destiny is the truth or if it's choice. I can't see all the strings. But I know I cannot sit back any longer. I'm already involved in this. I was long before you came to Springwood. I can't choose for you, Ash... there's who you are, the man who Jacob and I believe you are... and there's who you really want to be. Who you will choose to be, or simply end up being."

"I was also wrong at the diner to tell you it was too late to back out. You still can, anytime, if you really want to. Get out of here and live in peace. I was very tempted to run away myself years ago, after Dan. To take Jacob, my father and Yvonne and flee. To keep the few dear to me I had left and go where I thought he could never follow. But I couldn't let that monster chase me from my own home. From my safe place. I have lived, loved and lost in Springwood. This is where I was born and this is where I will die. This is _my_ home, not Krueger's. You already saw Krueger's home. I wouldn't think less of you for leaving.. you never asked for this any more than I did. I can only decide for myself. I am the guardian of the positive dream gate. I'm going to the Pit, and I'm going to try to stop him. Or die in the attempt. And I will try with or without you standing at my side."

Alice's determined, steely voice fell silent, and Ash remained that way... chewing it over. Before he could think of what to say, if he could think of anything, they heard the distant footsteps in the house. Doctor Gordon returned carrying a piece of paper and a small pill bottle, rejoining them in the front room. Alice and Ash stood up at once, with Alice moving over closer towards him.

"Here you are, Alice. This prescription should last you for awhile."

"Thank you, Neil.", Alice breathed with obvious relief, taking the signed paper and bottle from the doctor. She looked over the paper and glanced at the bottle with a nod, looking back at him. "I'll follow the instructions carefully. You're a life saver."

"I try to be. Comes with the job. But you're both in a hurry, I'm sure, plenty to get ready for. I won't keep you."

On that note, Doctor Gordon smiled and led them back across the front room to the door. Getting their shoes back on, Ash opened the door and stepped back out on the front steps with Alice, both of them turning to face the doctor. The doctor extended his hand out to Ash and he took it.

"Appreciated, doc."

"Think nothing of it. It was nice to meet you, Ash. Take care of this one, huh?", Doctor Gordon smirked faintly as he shook his hand again, eyes flickering between the two of them. Falling on Alice. Ash held his tongue, merely shaking the man's hand. "Or from the looks of it maybe she should take care of you."

"I will, Neil. Thank you again so much."

"Anytime at all. Say hi to Jacob for me. If there's anything else I can do to help, just call. And when this is over, promise me you'll get a good, long sleep."

"I will. I promise."

"Then I'll just wish you good luck. Despite what's happening... even with the sleep deprivation, you look well. It's nice to see you smiling again, Alice."

On that note, with one last knowing smile at them, Doctor Gordon closed the door, and the two of them stood there for a moment. Finally, they turned, making their way in silence back to the Delta. Ash got inside and fired it up as she got in, buckling up and throwing it in reverse, taking them back out on to the road. Ash was lost in his contemplation of their tense exchange in the doctor's house.

The silence lingered between them... with only the radio playing between them... but Ash couldn't really hear it. Neither of them were looking at the other, and he didn't feel her glances like before. When he stole one, her expression was carefully controlled... and she was no longer searching through the Goth girl's things. She simply sat there peering out the window in thought. It wasn't the comfortable silence of before, somehow it was different now... something in the air, something he had caused... and he didn't like it. Something had changed.

He drove them along downtown, back for her house... but along the way, the silence became steadily unbearable. Bothered him deeply in a way he hadn't expected. Guilt. He thought he had gotten too old for that feeling... but he never could escape it. No matter how much he ran away from it. And all at once he knew what he had to do... to set it right. To set this right, at least. Signalling, Ash pulled over to the side of the road downtown, putting the Delta in park and turning it off. He stared straight ahead through the window, watching the cars and pedestrians walk by. And then he looked down to his gloved hand at the wheel... jaw tightening. At his side she watched him now with visible concern, leaning over a bit closer. Breaking the silence.

"Ash? What is it? Are you ok?"

"No... I'm not. I haven't been for a long time."

It took him awhile to find the words... but she sat there patiently throughout... watching him and waiting. Slowly, he forced himself to look up, and meet those blue eyes again... and he felt the calm and soothing they offered. The understanding. The girl in the diner had returned in an instant, as quickly as the steely Dream Master had. The longer he looked at her... the more it all came pouring back to him. And with it, the memories... the words as well.

"I'm no coward, Alice. At least... not anymore."

"I didn't think you were."

"I'm an idiot, but I'm not a panicker. You see... back in the Dream World... what you saw in me there... the thing about that cabin...-

"Ash. It's ok. You don't need to tell me anything about that. You don't owe me an explanation, just because I told you my depressing story. Your dreams, memories, are your own to do with as you will."

"And I want to tell you, Alice. I need to. If you'll listen."

"Of course I will, Ashley. Anything. Look at what _you've _listened to. What I've put on you already. What you said at their graves... you were right. We need to carry this thing together. All of it. Your burdens and mine. Let them be one and the same."

Her pale, bare hand moved across the Delta interior and settled on his gloved gauntlet. He watched her squeeze it tightly, wishing he could feel it... but knowing it was there, her intent, was enough. Reassuring. Meeting her tender gaze, he took his time, gathering his thoughts... not hearing the passing cars and other sounds beyond the Delta. All that mattered was them... in this world, together.

"I know you saw some of my memories... the good. And some of the bad. I don't know which exactly. You probably don't understand it all, or much of it... nobody could. It happened to me and I still don't understand. It's not the Dream World... but the world I've known, the way you know the Dream World. I'll tell you. I trust you. When I was your age... me and my little sister Cheryl, girlfriend Linda, best friend Scotty and his girlfriend Shelly... we went on a trip up to a cabin in the woods. It was just supposed to be a getaway, fun and games. At first it was... and then we found something in the cellar. A book. Bound in human flesh and blood for ink... containing a darkness inside it. The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The Book Of The Dead."

"Some fuckwit archaeologist professor who found it got the bright idea of studying it in the woods with his wife... and just as stupidly we opened it up and tried to read it. We fucked around with something we shouldn't have been, like those kids did with Krueger. It woke something in the woods... and it came for us. Deadites. Servants of the Dark Ones who wrote the fucking thing. I'm sure you saw them in my memories. They took my sister... took Linda, Scotty and Shelly and turned them into... _things_. Monsters. Demons. I had to kill them all. I chopped my girlfriend into pieces with a chainsaw. I tried to burn the book... I thought it worked... but I failed. It mended it's self."

"When it did, they tried to take me... they turned me into one of them... but the sunlight of the next day drove it out. I tried to escape, but they had destroyed the bridge out. Come the next night, it came for me again... tried to drive me insane. Possessed my goddamn hand, made it try to kill me. The corruption was spreading... and I stopped it the only way I could think of. Later the archaeologist's daughter, his co worker and some rednecks found a back road I didn't know about. Came up to the cabin and found me. Thought I was just a murderous lunatic... threw me in the cellar... until it came for them too. Me and the Professor's daughter managed to fight back against them, she translated the book and made a vortex to suck them all away. She was killed before she could close the damn thing, and me and the Delta were pulled through the gate as well."

She was listening very seriously... a deep sympathy and disquiet there. What she was thinking, he wasn't sure. But he knew she didn't doubt him in the least, as everyone else had. How could she, in this town? The next part might prove a bit more difficult to buy, though. So he tried to rush right through it. To gloss over it. There was no smooth way to do it.

"I woke up in England, in the year 1300. Fought an army of Deadites. Found a way back home."

He tried to say it as nonchalantly as he could. There was no getting around it. No matter how he put it. He was only a little surprised when her eyes showed no hint of the skepticism or doubt that it elicited any time he told someone else. That much was a relief, at least. She must have seen at least a little of it. Pressing forward, he wrapped up his less than stellar story.

"When I got back to my own time, I went back to Elk Grove. I tried to tell everyone what had happened. Tried to tell my old man. Nobody believed me, of course. They assumed the obvious. Of course there were no bodies to prove either of our claims... but I was as good as convicted in that town. I packed my bags and left. Haven't spoken to my dad in twelve years."

Ash trailed off again, going silent. He felt the weight, the burden of it all more than ever... just talking about it again. But it was different as well. He wasn't telling it to someone who thought he was lying... or would mock or doubt him. She had been through hell too. Just a different form of it. Her mind was more open to possibility's than his... he still doubted his place in this Dream World of hers. All he knew was what he was good at in the real world. Those eyes didn't leave him through any of it... not the intense sympathy, written large across them. And despite the burden... he felt it just a little bit less, letting it pour free.

"Maybe I'd have been better off if I stayed in the past. I was appreciated there. Treated me like a King... I might have even become one.", Ash finally muttered, shaking his head. His gloved gauntlet tightened on the wheel beneath her hand, the movement and his eyes drawing hers to it. "That's where I made this baby. With a little help from a local blacksmith."

"I'm so sorry, Ash.", Alice whispered at last, her fingers trailing along the glove. Her eyes returned to his, as they looked across the Delta to one another. Her grip tightened on the gauntlet. "I believe you, though. Every word."

"You're the only one who can say that. It means more than I can tell you."

"I shouldn't have pried in your memories, in my safe place. You would have shown me in your own time when you were more ready. And in doing that, I made you vulnerable to that bastard. I should have known better."

"You couldn't have. Who would guess any of that? I tried to hide it from you. I tried for years to hide it from myself... but I can't. I can't keep running away. But I don't know where to stop, or how. I'm tired beyond sleep. I'm tired inside. Or I was... until I met you. Maybe this is it... here in Springwood. My chance to set things right. To stop running. What you're doing here... it's a cause. A good one. That makes me want to dare to hope... and it frightens me. I've only ever fought for myself. To survive, or to get home. I've been running so long it's all I know. I'm alone, even among others. They like my exterior well enough, hell who wouldn't? But they can't know who I am. I dare not say. And nobody asks."

Ash paused, long enough to consider it. He uttered a low, bitter laugh, shaking his head.

"My hometown and my father were probably right about me. I'm not a 'Dream Master', 'Dream Hero'... 'Promised One' or 'Chosen One'. I'm just Ashy Slashy. That guy who went mad and chopped up all his friends in the woods. So I can't make you any promises that I'll succeed, or be who you and Jacob think I am. But I can promise you this: Ashy Slashy will try to help you chop that motherfucker up. Throw what's left of him into the Pit. Or die in the attempt. I'll be right there at your side, whatever the result."

She searched his face... and he wondered what she was reading there. What she really saw. Who she saw. When she looked at him, he was certain she could read him like a book. Better than he could himself. Whatever it was this time, it made her smile, a little wryly.

"Preferably without dying. You life has meaning. And you mean something to others. Besides... I just _might_ want you around... when this is over."

"Can't get enough of me already, huh? Can't say I blame you."

"Shhh."

"We can take this demon, Alice. We can take him. With imagination."

"Mind over matter, Ashley. I know his weaknesses."

They one another's gaze for a time... before gradually her hand left his glove, trailing along it lightly as it did so. That smile didn't fade in the least... nor did his. Again they were silent, and it was the comfortable one he had cherished. Ash started up the Delta again, the radio returning, and he threw it and drive and moved them back out on to the street. Continuing home. Down one increasingly familiar road after another, together. Before long, she spoke up relaxingly at his side again, shaking the pill container, rattling the contents.

"We need to stop off at my father's before we go home. Get him some of these pills. He should get some rest soon."

"He knows everything about Krueger? You told him all about the bastard? The Dream World? Like me?"

"Yes. It took some time, he didn't believe any of it at first... but I showed him awhile back. And I had Yvonne tell him what's happening now. I called him earlier. He's up to date."

"Good. Makes things simpler. Here. Call him again, then."

Ash reached into the pocket of his suit and withdrew his cell, glancing at it. Then he handed it off to her. Feeling her fingers brush against his deliberately as she took it from him. Both his hands returned to the wheel as he turned off down another street, weaving through the traffic.

"Invite him over to the house instead, ASAP. He can get his pill and some shut eye there. For when we head to the Pit tonight. I have a plan of my own I'm still working out. Call it life insurance. We're going to need his help for it. We need to stick together. If he's anything like my old man was with Cheryl, he'll do anything for his little girl. He may even like the once in a lifetime possible opportunity I'm offering. What all father's want to do to the men their daughters date. "

"What's the plan?"

"You're just gonna have to trust me and play along. It's my turn to contribute what I'm best at. Show you part of my world. You'll see." His eyes flickered over to hers again, flashing her his grin. "Besides, I'd like to meet Papa Johnson. Make a good first impression. A memorable one, at least."

"Meet my father? After the second date?", Alice remarked with mock incredulity, looking thoroughly amused at the prospect already. "You _do_ move fast, Mr Williams."

"Life is short, young lady. We're here for a good time. Not a long one. And a lot can happen or change in a short span."

"You don't need to tell me that."

"He got a first name?"

"Dennis."

"Denny. I can work with that."

At his side she flipped open his phone, looking it over. Before looking back his way with an amused, risen brow. Tone just as wry.

"You turned your phone off? You probably have some missed calls from _Jenny _by now."

"Looks like I'll be missing more. Ashy Slashy has bigger fish to fry."

"For such a charming man, you can be such an asshole."

"Yeah. Comes with the territory, Red. But I'm _your_ sexy, rugged, demon killing asshole. If you want me to be."

He caught a little grin out of her, but she said nothing. Didn't need to. Shaking her head, she turned the phone on and called up her father. Speaking with him as they made their way closer to her house. Telling him to come over, how it was important, and that someone wanted to meet him. That everything would be explained in due time. Ash knew what he was about to drop on Dennis Johnson by the time they reached her street. Probably a bit much for normal people... but they were surely prepared to do anything for Alice, after all they'd lost and been through. He wasn't about to let what they still had be taken away. Not even by himself. Hanging up the phone Alice handed it off to him again with a grateful smile and nod. He tucked it away in his suit and before long they drew closer to her place.

* * *

As the Delta arrived, within moments it seemed her neighbors were out and gawking again. He smirked to himself, wondering how far around the block it had spread, and what was being said. Oh well, at least he stood out, was memorable. And Alice seemed to like it. Steering into her driveway, they came to a stop, and as he parked it and turned off the engine, he saw Jacob and Yvonne emerge from the house, coming down to see them. Alice and him got out of the Delta, closing it up, and while Alice, the box under one arm, went to go see Jacob, the boy came running down to meet her halfway, Yvonne came out in her tied up bathrobe staring hard at Ash. Moving past Alice and Jacob as she led her son back to the stairs and stopping in front of him, barring him access to the house.

"You and I need to talk."

"Yes, we do.", Ash returned at once, having expected as much. Better to get it out of the way now instead of later when it might cause some problems. They needed to have it out, and see where the other stood. "Right this way."

He beckoned her over to the Delta, a bit away from Alice and Jacob while they remained on the stairs. Jacob watched them with a smile at his mother's side, while she looked between him and Yvonne with concern. The moment they were out of earshot, Yvonne spoke to him, tone hushed so only he could hear, but vehement, folding her arms.

"What happened back there... I'm still pissed off. That bastard murdered my friends and tried to do the same to me. But I could care less about me. You have no idea what Alice and Jacob have been through. You weren't here. I was. For some reason you roll into town and they just trust you, are drawn to you... even after before. While you were gone that boy was talking about you non stop. He looks up to you, thinks you're a knight in shining armor. And the way I see her looking at you... I haven't seen her like that since Dan. If you hurt them, try to hurt them or even think of trying to hurt them, you're going to have to go through me to do it. You got that?"

Ash studied Yvonne for a time, the bruises he had put on her neck... looking between her, Alice and Jacob. Her voice was defiant, resolute... strong, in spite of how visibly tired she was. She would trade her life for theirs in a minute, even against a demon possessed him. No matter how afraid she had been the other night. He respected her for it. There was fire there... that would come in handy. At last, he nodded, speaking his own piece. Telling her nothing but the truth.

"Glad to hear it. Because I'm not going to hurt them. Ever. You don't have to like me, Yvonne, or even trust me... but I'm not going to let anything else happen to them. Or to you, or her father. I know I'm just the unbelievably sexy, handsome stranger here who showed up out of nowhere. You think I have no stake in all this, that it's just fun and games to me. But I do. I just didn't expect to. Now, I have a plan to make sure even if that sweater clad bastard possesses me again, you'll all be safe. So, I want you to go back inside with me, take a Hypnocil and get some sleep soon. Relax. I'm going to need your help protecting them tonight, and you need to be at full strength. _For them_. Ok?"

As she considered all that, he extended out his bandaged hand to her. Looking back in Yvonne's eyes steadily. Something conflicted and suddenly disarmed flickered across her eyes. Maybe it was the look he gave her, or the resolve in his own voice. Either way she looked slowly over to the stairs where Alice and Jacob watched them together. And then he watched her nod slightly, and felt as she took his offered hand, clasping it tightly.

"Ok, Ash. We'll play it your way. For now. But I'll be watching you."

"Good. Come on, time to get ready for tonight. Alice's father is coming over soon.", Ash informed her with a slow smile. He gestured back to Alice and Jacob awaiting them. "And I need to get out of this damn suit anyways."

A flicker of a weary smile finally reached Yvonne. And that seemed to be enough said on the matter. The two of them went back up to the stairs together, Ash rubbed the top of Jacob's head and they all went inside. Taking off their shoes, Alice went out to the front room with Jacob, and she set the box down on the coffee table.

When Yvonne and Alice went into the kitchen to speak to each other quietly, and Jacob resided on the couch drawing and watching cartoons, Ash took the chance to steal away down the hall. He went into Alice's room and closed the door behind him. Flicking on the bedside light, he made his way to the closet and opened it up, withdrawing the trunk inside. Taking his time. He removed his sunglasses and cell phone from his pocket, then he set the trunk down on her bed and popped it open.

His comfortable, stained street clothes beckoned to him like a light down a hall. Smiling with satisfaction, he withdrew them and undid his tie, removing his dark suit, white white shirt and trousers, the necklace falling free against him. He retrieved his brown jeans and pulled them on first, adjusting his belt. Removing his customized glove, he dropped it on the bed as well, taking the time to examine the joints of the gauntlet again. Didn't seem like they'd need oiling or mechanical adjustments anytime soon. Still, he'd have to examine it when he got back to Detroit. If he got back there. Before he could reach for his blue shirt, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Ahem."

Ash turned around to find Alice standing there with an amused look in the doorway. Stepping inside and closing it behind her. Her eyes looked him over without any hint of subtlety... appreciative... but concerned, when she spotted all the scars along him. They stopped on his exposed gauntlet, and all the various tightened straps and buckles on that arm, lips parting. She had believed him when he told her, he knew, but there was believing and there was actually seeing it for yourself. He merely grinned over at her, shaking his head.

"Pervert. Don't you ever knock before entering a lady's bedroom?"

"It _is_ my bedroom."

"Fair enough. Can't blame you wanting to take advantage of that. Getting an eyeful. Not every day you meet someone like me."

Her eyes slowly, reluctantly moved from his form, over to the suitcase on her bed, and back to the open closet. At that, she started forward, moving over closer to him. Joining him in front of the bed, looking back up into his eyes with a slight knowing, teasing smile.

"Already moving in your luggage?"

"Was in a hurry. And my coat was already in there. I can move it back out to the Delta if you want."

"I never said that."

Her cool, soft touch was welcome. Tenderly, it ran over thick muscle, scar tissue and hair, tracing along it. She went all the way around him, touching the scars on his back as well... before coming back around to his front. Her hand went to Linda's necklace, picking it up by the looking glass and raising it between them, looking back through it at him... her blue eye giant within it. Gradually she lowered the chain again, and her hand went to his arm, ran along the straps, buckles and entirety of the gauntlet, taking it all in. The man she seemed to think was a 'Dream Hero'. And then those big blues were looking back up at him again sympathetically. When she spoke it was with a soft murmur.

"These are bad."

"Could say that again. I'd say you should have seen the ones who did it, but you probably did. Other than the hand, brutally hacking up and melting my demon possessed friends, I guess I fared pretty well. Considering."

"What are these ones from?", She asked quietly, pointing to the jagged marks on his lower back. Gently running a finger across them. "Yikes..."

"The thing that looked vaguely like Cheryl did those. Got enthusiastic with a fire poker. While Scotty was biting my leg."

She said nothing, merely looking at him. He'd give a fair bit to know what she was thinking exactly. They remained that way closely for a long moment. Ash felt a shiver run up his spine at her continued touch. Turning slightly, he reached for the suitcase and withdrew the stained, blue denim shirt within. Carefully, he rose it over his head and drew it down over himself, fitting his gauntlet through the sleeve. Finishing up, he threw his glove, suit, tie and trousers into the briefcase, closed it up and took it back to the closet, stowing it away within. Turning back he looked for her dresser mirror, standing before it and examining himself, as she approached from behind. Raising the gauntlet he flexed the fingers, which whirred as they responded, clenching it into a fist. He looked himself over carefully... impressed as ever by what he saw there, grin breaking out. Not really seeing the bruises and bandages anymore.

"Ah. Much better. I'm looking good. Looking sweet today, huh, doll?"

"You know I have a washing machine, right? I can get out those bloodstains for you."

"As much as I like the idea of you playing sexy little housewife, there's no need just yet. I've had worse ones."

He watched her approach closer in the dresser mirror, watched and felt her set her hand on his shoulder. Pressing her head gently against his back, as though resting it there. His bandaged hand rose to hers, fingers rubbing along it. They watched one another in the mirror. At last, her hand left his and she moved up in front of him at the dresser, drawing the top drawer open and glancing back at him with a wink.

"I need to change too. Turn around."

"How's that fair? You got an eyeful of me yourself."

"My bedroom, my rules."

"Fair enough. That's my motto too. One of many."

"You saw yourself in."

"I recall an invitation."

"Yes. And it stands. Be a good boy and turn around. No peeking."

Ash merely smirked, threw his hands up and obeyed, stepping back from her and turning. Listening to her change... focusing his eyes elsewhere. In spite of obvious temptation. Before too long he heard the dresser drawer close, and her brushing out her hair. Turning to face him again.

"There now. What do you think?"

Alice stood before the mirror and dresser in a long white nightgown, a necklace of her own visible. In the light she looked surprisingly angelic. A beacon of light, like she had been at the diner. The redhead's long hair was settled at her pale shoulders, flowing over them, her brilliant blue eyes watching him for his reaction. Waiting on his response. He felt himself grin awkwardly again as he looked her over, feeling a creeping warmth running along the back of his neck. Chuckling a bit, trying to speak casually.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?"

"I would. But I'm patient."

"That makes one of us. I'm thinking a night dress, gorgeous as it is, in the afternoon?"

"Is there a more appropriate uniform for a Dream Master, Ashley?"

"Touche. But there is that outfit in the journal drawing. Wouldn't mind seeing you in that one either."

"I bet you wouldn't."

The way she looked at him was a lure... it had sunk into him, and he couldn't ignore it's pull. Slowly, he walked back to the dresser, joining her in front of it. When he had, she rose her hand and tenderly stroked along his face, tracing the cuts and bruises. Tracing along his lips.

"So what was all that with Yvonne back there?"

"She was reading me the riot act. About you and Jacob. Can't blame her at all."

"She's very protective. Has been since... well. You know."

"I gathered that. And I'm glad. Someone needed to be. Look out for you and him. Not like I was here."

"But you are now. That's what matters."

He couldn't say no to that. Ash's arms settled around her waist, both hands spreading upon her back gently. Trailing down along it, feeling through her gown. Slowly, he leaned down closer towards her, unable to ignore his desire. And feeling hers. Feeling her pulse and his own. Her lips parted... but just as he drew near, she stopped him with a finger over his cut lips. He looked back into those beguiling eyes... saw her smile... and felt himself smile back against her finger. In spite of the tension.

"Mmm... easy, tiger. Our third date hasn't even started yet. Our second one ended when you got me home. You'll just have to wait until tonight, when we go out again."

"Far, far out, right?"

"Yes. If that journal is any indicator, we can go catch a light show. Plan to kill a demon. And not have to worry about any interruptions."

"I like how you think, Red."

"You'll like how I do a lot of things."

"Never a doubt in my mind."

"Mommy! Sir Ash! Grandpa is here!"

Ash's heart spasmed and he nearly jumped, both of them looking to find the door opened. Jacob standing there smiling in it. Looking at them innocently. Ash's hands slowly lowered from his mother, but remained at her side, as she spoke to him warmly.

"We'll be right there, sweetie. You go out and say hi to him."

Jacob beamed at the two of them innocently and departed, closing the door again. Ash heard him racing down the hall to the front door excitedly. He looked sideways to Alice's amused look, returning her smirk.

"See what it's like with a kid running around the house? Sure you don't want to go back to that special 'no dating single mothers' rule of yours?"

"I like to live dangerously. If you hadn't noticed."

"I might have picked that up. You're still here with me. Didn't flee Springwood screaming like anyone else would have last morning."

"That's right. Better get out there. I don't think your old man would like me alone in his little girl's bedroom with her."

"Then go out there and make a good first impression. A strong one, at least."

"Wish me luck, doll. Let's go. You just hang back and enjoy the show."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

With a trace of a smirk, Alice took him by the wrist and led him out of the bedroom at once. They headed down the hall and to the front room, to the front door. Getting closer to it, Alice let go of his wrist, moving ahead of him some ways. He hung back with Yvonne, who wasn't about to miss it for the world, clearly. Ahead Jacob was hugging his grandfather, Alice just behind him... and Ash caught sight of the man. He was an older man, in his later fifties perhaps, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and a dark tie and trousers... with dark, well graying hair. An office worker if Ash ever saw one. He had a longer nose, and the lined face of age and stress... and drink. Ash had seen many like him in various bars... but at least according to Alice he had broken his addiction. Had a new lease on life. Apart from being involved in nightmare demon related matters, of course. And the loss of a son. He seemed kind, at least, the way he interacted with Jacob and his daughter... on good terms, and his smile was genuine. He was a man glad to be alive.

"Dad, there's someone here I'd like you to meet. This might seem a bit crazy, but please just go along with it. Trust me. And trust him. He's a good man... and wants to help."

Well, that was an opener if he'd ever heard one. Ash moved past Yvonne with a wink and down towards the three of them. Dennis Johnson stood in the doorway, looking past his daughter and grandson to Ash. Ash simply looked back at him... watching the older man's smile fade as he caught sight of Ash's bloodstained shirt and injured face. And perhaps his age. Wasn't the only time he'd ever seen a father looking at him like that.

"Ash, this is my father, Dennis Johnson.", Alice smiled a bit uncertainly, looking between the two of them. "Dad, this is-

"Ashley J. Williams, granddad.", Ash cut in with a grin, thrusting his gauntlet out to the man in the doorway. "S-Mart Managerial Assistant, Detroit Michigan. Housewares. Demon slayer. Problem solver. At your service, sir. Your daughter's a great girl."

Dennis Johnson looked silently between Ash's bruised, cut up face, and down to the medieval gauntlet. And then over to the smiling Jacob and his daughter with growing alarm. Alice merely nodded encouragingly, hopeful smile remaining. Finally, looking at him with confusion, he took Ash's gauntlet and shook it slightly, Ash returned the gesture, restraining the joints' great strength.

"Ashley?"

"Yeah that's the thing about my old man, he had a real sense of humor. He took one look at me in the delivery room, looked at the other kids, and decided they needed a chance against me, growing up.", Ash explained absently, getting it out of the way. When his hand retracted Ash picked up his boots quickly, throwing them on and looking back over to the man. "Leave your boots on a bit longer, Denny. Gonna need your help with something out in the driveway."

"I-

"That's the spirit."

Before he could form more words, Ash wrapped an arm around the stunned older man's shoulders and half dragged him, half led him back out on to the steps and down them. Once he had, a thought came to mind, pausing him a moment. Looking back to Jacob, standing with the smiling Alice and visibly amused Yvonne out on the steps, he flashed the boy a grin.

"You too, Jacob. Come along now. I'm gonna need my squire on this one."

That made the boy grin back widely with excitement, looking up at his mother who patted him on the back and nodded, gesturing encouragingly. He raced past his mother and Yvonne and joined him and his grandfather out on the driveway. Once he had Ash led them all past Dennis Johnson's white car and down towards the Delta. It was still a bright, clear sunny day. Blue skies for all of the eyes to see. Warm but not hot. Everything a September should be. He led them both around the Delta and to the back of it, taking out his keys and popping open the trunk. Raising it he looked down inside the cluttered interior, while Jacob and Dennis did the same. Eyes falling on them, a satisfied look reached Ash's face. The sight of them never disappointed.

"Here we are. Come to daddy. I call these two The Twins.", Ash laughed, looking over at Papa Johnson's startled face. Reaching inside, Ash withdrew the chainsaw with his gauntlet, hefting it up with ease out of the truck. With his other hand he withdrew the Boomstick from it's holster on the inside of the trunk. Ash rose the saw higher, along with the double barrel, looking between them proudly. "Kept em' with me for years. Got me through thick and thin. Blood, that is."

"What the hell are they for?"

"Well they ain't for trimming the lawn or nosy neighbors. Your family has a demon problem, Mr Johnson. I'm a walking demon solution. You take the chains and the small toolbox there, it's full of padlocks with a key for them."

Ash pointed it out to him among the clutter, and Mr Johnson reluctantly complied, looking between him and the items like he'd gone mad. Reaching inside he picked up the coiled steel chains, looping an arm through them and hoisting them over his shoulder. With the other he picked up the tool box and withdrew it as well. While he was doing that, Ash turned his attention to the boy at his side staring in awe at him as he held the chainsaw. Looking down at the customized hand attachment he'd added to the base of it. Smiling, he pointed a bit with the end of the saw inside the trunk to the box of 12 gauge shells sitting near the top of his spare gas tank.

"Jacob, you see that small box there? I need you to carry that for me."

"Yes Sir Ash!"

At once Jacob moved forward while Ash hung back, watching the grandfather and grandson working together. He swung the Boomstick across his shoulder comfortably, resting it there, keeping the chainsaw at his side. Slowly he looked up from the Delta and back to the front steps, to find Yvonne and Alice watching it all. Yvonne was whispering something to Alice and Alice was smiling brightly. Proudly. He waved at them with the chainsaw and a smile of his own. Standing out in the sun, in her white gown... pale, pretty freckled face watching him... it was almost enough to make him lose sight of his task. Of keeping her safe. Preparing. Almost. Looking back to Jacob, Ash noticed he had the box of shells at his side under one arm, but was still reaching within. Running his hand across the surface of some metal. Staring at it the way he had the chainsaw and the gauntlet.

"Jacob, what is it?"

Ash stepped closer to see what it was... and smiled, understanding the boy's fascination at once. While Dennis had been shifting aside some of the items inside, the surface of the breastplate was exposed. Jacob ran his little fingers along the hundreds of years old piece of blue steel, tracing the black lion imprinted on it. As well as the blue cloak Sheila had made for him bundled up right next to it.

"Oh. That old thing. I like to keep it around. Never know when you'll need some good old fashioned armor. Never waste good steel."

Mid task, Mr Johnson also looked over at the medieval plate... freezing and looking back at the cool, collected Ash. Looking as though he wanted to say something, and thinking better of it. Shaking his head, setting aside some science and chemistry text books, he finished gathering the chains and stepped back from the trunk with all the items Ash had instructed him to bring. Slowly, reluctantly, still looking awed, Jacob did the same. Ash slammed the trunk again, locking it up... when he caught something from his peripheral, looking off to the side.

"Nothing to worry about, lady.", Ash grinned at Alice's neighbor, still watching them from her front lawn. And, looking around... was clearly not the only one doing so. Ash held up the chainsaw and double barrel a bit, gesturing with it. "We're just beefing up the old home security at the Johnson House. You have yourself a good day now. Petunias are coming in nicely."

The old lady stared back at him in shocked silence, jaw dropping, with the same horror that she had earlier in the day. Morbid curiosity. It really was something when he could get more privacy in his trailer park than a place like this. He supposed with things so idyllic, apart from the nightmare demon plaguing their town, they needed something to entertain themselves with. Shaking his head slowly, he turned and led the way back up the driveway, past the cars, and to the front steps. Reaching them, he winked at Alice as he carefully brushed past her, marching through the front door. Without looking back, Ash kicked off his boots to the side, continued towards the front room and called back to them over his shoulder.

"Inside, ladies and gentlemen. Follow me. Shoes off in the lady's house."

He marched through the house, careful where he aimed the chainsaw, and made his way back down to her bedroom, hearing them following suit behind. He could hear Dennis speaking to Alice in a carefully hushed tone. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could imagine what it was about. Something involving the word 'lunatic' no doubt. He laughed under his breath. Entering the bedroom, he marched over to Alice's bed and set the chainsaw down on the floor beside it. Within moments the others joined him

"Denny? Put the chains over on the chair.", Ash instructed him with a nod, looking back over to Jacob. He knelt down and held out the Boomstick to the boy to take in both hands, looking at him very seriously. Between him and his mother. "Squire Jacob? Put the Boomstick and box up on your mom's night table, and get back over here. It's not loaded, and the safety is on, but carry it safely and no looking down the barrel. Safety first. Especially with firearms. Understood?"

"Yes Sir Ash. I won't."

"There's a good little squire."

He surrendered the sawed off shotgun to the boy, and watched him carry out his task. Behind him, Dennis Johnson did the same, grunting a bit as he set the chains and tool box down in the chair next to the bed. They were disciplined and followed orders, at least. good. As instructed, Jacob put up the weapon, and came right back over to Ash's side as he rose. Ash smiled down at him and rubbed the top of his head again. The boy beamed at him, and Ash turned back around to face the others.

"Alright, listen up you Springwoodians. Here's how it's going to go. You're already mostly up to date, at least. You know the stakes. Tonight me and your daughter are going to Dream Land. Before we do, you're going to take those chains and tie me down to the bed with them. Then padlock them good."

"_What_?"

"You heard me. Those chains are good strong steel, enough to give even a nightmare demon body snatcher some trouble.", Ash informed him, looking between Mr Johnson and Yvonne. Then glancing down at Jacob. Moving over to the boy, standing behind him, he reached down and carefully covered his ears with his gauntlet and bandaged hand. Looking back up and around at the others. "Now, the second part. If the bastard takes possession of my body and tries to escape, kill you all, I want you and Yvonne to take the Boomstick over there and shoot me in the head with it. Point blank."

Silence greeted him. Yvonne stunned, looking over at the shotgun on the bedside table, Johnson's jaw dropping... Alice a little startled. Tough crowd. Ash went on as though it were of no account, making sure his hands remained secure over the boy's ears. He looked up at Ash with polite curiosity, smiling, but remained as he was, trusting him. Ash returned it as he spoke to the others again.

"That might do the job, and it might not. To be on the safe side, you should probably take the chainsaw to all of my limbs and decapitate me as well. Vital organs too, just to be thorough. No telling what this night stalker can do through me. It's the only way to be sure. From there I'd suggest folding up what's left of me in a blanket, digging a grave out in the yard, taking the tank of gas in my trunk and burning my remains. If the police show up, just tell them Ashy Slashy from Elk Grove went insane and tried to kill you all. That should get you off the hook. Trust me on this one. If it comes to any of that, I want one of you to take Jacob and put him in his room, tell him to cover his ears. Keep him there. Don't let him out or see me like that, to see any of it. Any questions?"

Yvonne and Dennis were frozen with stunned shock and horror. Staring at him the way the people of Elk Grove did. Alice looked equal parts disturbed and impressed. They were taking it better than he had expected, at least. Before Ash could go on, Mr Johnson found his voice and his courage.

"Just one...", Dennis Johnson started slowly, eyes slowly gaping at the man in front of him, as though he hadn't seen him before. Clearing his throat. "Who the hell _are_ you _really_?"

"I'm your daughter's new boyfriend. Nice to meet you, sir. Welcome to my world."

Grandpa Johnson had no response to that. With no more objections evident, Ash removed his hands from Jacob's ears at last and rubbed his hair again. Looking among them all with a satisfied nod. At least that was settled. Then he looked back to the redhead... who, to his relief, seemed thoroughly pleased with his answer. He flashed her a knowing wink.

"Alice? Kindly get them a glass of cool water and their Hypnocil. Jacob? Help your mom. Take Grandpa to the guest room and Yvonne to her room.", Ash instructed them firmly but gently, with a nod to each, before looking back to the others. "You two are exhausted, and are going to need some rest first. I want you sharp and alert, focused. Ready for anything. It could be an eventful night. Sleep well. Dismissed."

On that note he calmly turned his back to them all, folding his hands behind it. There was another silence, as he felt all their eyes... but within moments they obeyed. Each of them departing from the room, talking among themselves... but he tuned it out. His thoughts were occupied enough with the dream demon that awaited them. He at least had a solution to the bastard in the real world. He was not the 'Dream Hero'... but Ashy Slashy would come through for them. No matter the cost.

He looked back over to the bedside table... seeing all the pictures just beyond the Boomstick and box of shells. Dan stared back at him. All of them did. He made his way over to the table... picking up his picture, and one beside it. The graduation picture of the Class of 89'. Alice, with all the friends she'd had then, including Yvonne... and who he assumed were Mark and Greta. Alice wore a pair of funny glasses beside her father, and Dan behind her with his arm around her. She was happy, laughing again... after what Krueger had first done to her. Dan had made her happy again... and if he'd lived, they would have had something more. What he would have had with Linda. They'd been planning to go to Europe, he would have gone with Linda to Jacksonville. Neither of them had gotten what they wanted, planned for.

He didn't feel guilt, that he should be with her instead... but it did matter to him. Dan was gone. Linda was gone. And here they were left over... trying to pick up the pieces and keep them together. Dan's life had had meaning. Impacted the world. It was obvious in Alice... and in Jacob. As Linda's had with him. They were the one's left... who had to make their way after such a losses. Wherever they were, they surely understood. Eventually, he heard the door creak open as she passed through it, closing it again behind her and breathing. When she remained silent, he looked back to her, standing by the door. She crossed the bedroom and joined him around the bed at the bedside table, looking very much bemused with whole turn of events. It froze when she saw him holding Dan's picture again, and that of her graduation ceremony.

"Did your father like Dan?"

"Well enough, yes. He knew Dan made me happy. That he had prospects in the future, a good head on his shoulders. That he loved me as much as I loved him."

"Good. Your dad like me, or is that one gonna be a long work in progress?"

"I think he will. When he calms down, and realizes all the stops you're pulling out to protect his little girl and grandson. You took him off guard. Yvonne understands... a bit freaked out, but understands. I also think you only scared several years off their lifespans. Thank you for sparing Jacob's ears, at least."

"They'll be fine. He's a good man. A good father and grandfather. Yvonne is a good friend. They love you, would kill me in a heartbeat to protect you and Jacob. Push comes to shove, they'll do their job. I'm not concerned about that."

"You don't care if you die? Especially _that_ way?"

"I care that I don't kill you, Alice. Or ruin your life again. Hurt you. You've been through... enough. Lost enough."

Ash peered down at the pictures in his hands, and set them back down on the table with the others. Alice looked at the shotgun on her night table... then between him and the photographs... and looked equal parts saddened and touched by that, momentarily at a loss for words. Finally, she drew closer, setting an assuring hand on his shoulder. Standing up on her tip toes, he felt her lips brush against his cheek, kissing it softly... warmly... before drawing back to look at him with a smile.

"That's the saddest and sweetest thing I've ever heard, Ashley. We'll do the chains part of your plan... but it won't come to any of the rest. I promise."

"And I promise to use the bathroom before they strap me to your bed."

"I won't let Krueger take you again. I told you that. I won't let him take you from me. You've been through as much or more than me alread. And _I_ dragged you into all this."

"I didn't kick up much of a fuss. And I'm still here, as you pointed out. Better safe than sorry, Red. Never hurts to have options. I wanted to contribute what I'm best at. No sense doing this thing backasswards."

"You're a leader... like Nancy and Kristen were.", She observed, pursing her lips slightly. Studying him carefully. "People will follow you. In the worst or craziest situations. It comes naturally to you. There's a fire about you that way."

"Only when I have to be. I'd really rather not be. Not in the messes I've been stuck in."

"I understand. And I thought _my_ world was fucked up."

"Oh, it is. Just now you have someone to balance it out. With his own equally fucked up one."

"Come on then, Ashy Slashy.", Alice murmured warmly, looking at him with amused fondness. Not using the name unkindly. She must have been the first person who could say it without it bothering him. She gently took him by the bandaged hand, fingers intertwining through them. "We might as well read up on The Chronicler's journal and notes. Prepare for tonight. And I'll make you some more coffee."

"A woman who knows the surest way to my heart."

"I don't have it yet?"

"Play your cards right, and you might have my heart in your bedroom by dawn. One way or another."

"I'd prefer it the old fashioned less bloody way."

"Likewise. Lead on, then, Dream Master."

Without another word, the woman in white drew him from her room, and Ash gladly submitted. They went down to the living room and sat together on the couch, as they had that morning... but closer still. As promised, she made them a pot of coffee, bringing it out to him, and together they sat closely and looked through the box's contents, the journals, falling into a comfortable silence once more. At some point, Jacob came out of his bedroom and joined them in the living room... and Ash pulled him up between them, rubbing his head and putting an arm around him.

Together they remained that way for the rest of the afternoon... and late into the evening as the sun gradually lowered beyond the windows, as Yvonne and Mr Johnson rested for their parts to play. Ash didn't feel fear or anticipation for their looming trip to the Coma Pit... back to the Dream World that was so alien to him and familiar to her. He didn't even really think about Krueger, even as they read about him in the Chronicler's documents. All he knew was that for the first time in twelve years... he felt like he was part of something again. Belonged to something... even if he didn't understand it at all. That maybe what was missing inside him all those years... could be found in Springwood. With Alice... and with Jacob.

Somehow, it seemed right. Just the three of them, together as they now were. He liked the feeling... just not the uncertainty that came with it. The doubt. Not in them, they knew who they were... but in himself. He could and would not fail them... as he had failed so many others.

No more running away.


	7. The Dream Master III

"That's it. A little tighter, Yvonne. Put your back into it, girl. Don't hold back on me now. I've had demonic imps of myself tie me down better than that."

"Man, you're beyond freaky."

"Took you this long to notice? Which part tipped you off?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was the fact you were carrying all this in your trunk?"

"Squire Jacob, get over here and scratch the tip of my nose. I can't seem to reach it for some reason."

"Yes Sir Ash!"

Alice sat in the chair close beside the bed watching it all happen with concern and a bit of amusement at the absurdity of it all... while on the other side of the bed, Jacob sat on another. Jacob got out of his chair and drew closer to the bed, reaching out to scratch the man's nose. Her father and Yvonne stood over the oddly relaxed figure on the bed, wrapping the chains taut around his blue and brown form and the bed frame, and securing a padlock for each. Under Ash's watchful eye, of course, making sure they did it right. Apparently he had a specific method.

When they were done, her father, despite his clear misgivings, picked up the shotgun and box of shells, making his way to the front of the bed and standing over it, loading it at Ash's insistence. Though holding the weapon down at his side and keeping the safety on. Somehow, this was all real, not a dream... this was her world now. Even when she thought she was used to it, somehow it became stranger. Though certainly not always in a bad way. Ash could make her laugh without any effort. Yvonne drew back around the other side of the bed, from Jacob's chair to hers, but left the modified chainsaw on the floor. Reaching Alice, she set a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Girl, are you sure about this? This is some crazy shit. Nothing like the last time."

"Yes... it's the only way I can think of. Krueger fears this Coma Pit... it'll be safe, and I need to learn more about it. It may be our best chance this time around. And Amanda told us about Ash for a reason. I think he just needs training in the Dream World. Experience. After the Pit, I'll train him some more. Take him back to my safe place for that."

"I trust her too... but you think she might have chose the wrong guy?", Yvonne asked, looking back to the bed with incredulity. Nodding to the man in it. "I mean really? _Him_?"

"Look at me years ago, how I was before all this. Would you ever think that girl would be me now?", Alice murmured back quietly, watching the bound Ash talking to and laughing with Jacob. "Would Ash being the Dream Hero be any different from me being the Dream Master?"

"Yeah. A little. He's good with Jacob, sure, and to you... he's also a dangerous nut job, you aren't. Never were. But it's your call. I got your back out here, as ever."

"Thank you, Yvonne. For this... and for everything. Always being there for us. You've never given up on me."

"Well... not since I became a believer, anyways. I should have believed you... before that burnt bastard came for me. You are the one who was always there for me. You saved my life, girl. Twice. Remember?"

"What are friends for?"

Smiling at that, Yvonne wrapped her arms around Alice and hugged her tight, encouraging, Alice returning it at once. Drawing great comfort from it. Then she drew back away from Alice and around the bed to the other side, standing behind Jacob's chair. When she did, her father came over to her as well, speaking quietly for her alone.

"Be careful in there, Alice.", Her father insisted, looking at her very seriously, setting down the shotgun on the floor. He took her into his arms and rubbed her hair and back, murmuring in her ear as Alice held him back just as tightly. "This bastard already took Rick away from us. Took away so much. Me and Jacob are not losing you too."

"You won't. And I will, dad. It's going to be ok. I promise. I need to end this. To try, at least."

"I know. I just wish this nightmare was over already. For all of us."

"Don't worry, sir.", Ash spoke up from the bed, flashing a grin between Alice and Dennis as they separated. "Ashy Slashy won't let anything happen to her. You can take that promise to the bank."

"Well isn't that a load off my mind... might have to take one off yours..."

Dennis Johnson grumbled to himself, grimacing at Ash, and reluctantly picked up the shotgun Ash affectionately called the "Boomstick" again. With another nod to his daughter, rubbing her shoulder, he moved off to the side again, in front of the bed. Despite all his colorful comments about Ash and questions he had put to her... she seemed to have been right. Even if he thought Ash was crazy, he seemed to understand that he was just as crazy about protecting her and Jacob. There was some common ground there between the two men, at least. However small it was. Alice looked across the bed to her son who was close to Ash, getting his attention.

"Jacob? Try to stay awake, sweetie... and if anything goes wrong, I want you to listen to grandpa and Yvonne. Ok?"

"I will mommy.", He promised her, before looking back down to his knight in steel chains. "Be careful Sir Ash."

"I will, little man. Remember what I told you. Who you are, while I'm away from the house kicking ass."

Jacob beamed down at the man... squeezing his immobile steel gauntlet. Then he went back to his chair and sat down in it, holding Yvonne's hand. Yvonne hovering over him protectively. Ash slowly looked at each one of them with a nod, before turning his eyes over to her, where she sat to his left. His gaze was silent, and steady... the way it had been at the diner... what already felt so long ago, somehow. Had it only been a day? She felt herself smiling again, unable to help the warmth she felt when he looked at her like that. He flashed her a relaxed, reassuring wink.

"Ready when you are, Dream Master. Let's get this third date started."

"Then close your eyes... take my hand... and hold on tight."

"Eyes are closed. Can't quite reach you, you're a bit far. Why don't you... scoot over a bit... and-

Alice seized him with her mind's eye and pulled him back down through the bed with her. Ash only screamed and shouted a little bit, this time. She felt his arms wrap back around her as they fell into the abyss of dreams, holding him back just as tightly. As the world above vanished, and was replaced by one infinitely greater. Soon they were flying together, once more, her hand guiding his. And already he was relaxing again. She could feel his ease... his adjustment to the process and sensation. It pleased her.

She reached out through the dreamscape... among the dreamers... and pictured a face... a form, of a girl. Annamarie. Conjuring her from memory and imagination and reaching out to her in the Dream World. Sure enough, she was there among them, waiting for them ahead, in a dark place. She glimpsed it, off in the distance... but then something happened, the closer they drew to it. Something that hadn't before. She was overwhelmed... by a presence... an onslaught of dreamers, faces and souls shining back at her. By power beyond calculation. It was the Pit... it had to be. Perhaps noticing something was wrong in their flight, Ash at her side grasped her hand tighter... giving her just enough focus to guide them down towards the dark place. Away from the other dreamers and the rest of the dreamscape. But it was the moment they struck it that she went dizzy, numb, and weak. And then, unable to help herself, she blacked out.

* * *

"Alice... Alice... what is it?", Ash's tense voice murmured to her from somewhere overhead. She felt his bandaged hand on her face, fingers trailing along it tenderly, trying to rouse her. Draw her back to the surface again. "Talk to me doll... are you ok?"

"I've... never felt... power like this. Can't you feel it, Ashley?", She murmured back, blinking repeatedly, trying to clear her vision and her head. Looking up, she saw him over her... two or three of him. But the more he touched her, the more clear and singular his image grew. Stronger. He looked entirely unaffected by the flight and their contact with the dark place. "This is an ancient place. I can't fathom how long it has existed. I feel the Pit... beyond. Locks and seals... around it and the entire cavern. I feel it like it's already mapped out for me. Inside my head."

"You belong here. The place was expecting you, rolling out the red carpet. Welcome home, Dream Master.", Ash's handsome, bruised face smiled warmly, taking her hand and helping her back up. He wrapped his right arm around her protectively, mechanical gauntlet settling there gently. Helping her stay upright at his side. "Come on, Red... it's just ahead. I've got you."

"And I've got you. Think I still have enough in me for _this_."

Sure enough, the bandages, cuts and bruises vanished on his face and hand. She reshaped his gauntlet into a normal human limb again. Smiling back up at him, at the wonder in his eyes. Even something as simple as that to him in the Dream World meant something to him. He looked quite a bit like Jacob did with him in that moment. She wondered what he would come up with once she had properly trained him. How his imagination would develop.

Then she wrapped her left arm around him as well, leaning her head against his shoulder. The power was still almost overwhelming... but it felt a bit better now, with his help. Bearable. They stood before an open gateway... leading down a tunnel. Behind them was only darkness... but beyond down the tunnel there were lights. Beacons shining back at her... beckoning to her... to both of them. Ash looked around the entrance of the tunnel, back down it, and nodded to himself. Starting them forward, through the entrance... as they did, Alice heard herself murmuring as much to herself as to Ash.

"If this is what Krueger feels... maybe he feels it worse... it's no wonder he can't come here..."

"I went bungee jumping for the first and last time with Scotty, back in college. His idea.", Ash spoke up with a slight shake of his head as he helped her along down the winding tunnel. The shimmering white lights within it casting their shadows about. The presence she felt only got stronger the closer they got... but with him she continued. He looked back down at her and smiled a bit wryly. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that drop... but the flying part is... exhilarating."

"You're getting better already, Ashley. You helped guide me down, too. You should have seen how long it took Yvonne to adjust. Or my father for that matter."

He laughed at that mental image, echoing through the looming tunnel... and in spite of what she was feeling, she couldn't resist a slight one of her own. Drawing on to his warmth as a shield, against what was ahead. She remained leaning on him, enjoying his support. His strength. Down and down they went... around bends, down and up. Until finally, somewhere in the distance, they reached the opening to the cavern. She felt it... knew the place entirely. Where everything was.

She just didn't know exactly what it was. Reaching the mouth of the cavern, they stopped in it, standing in the light... and looking down into it, around. The moment they did, she felt the cave respond to them... greet them, as it had been with the lights of the tunnel. All around the cavern, at various sections over head and below, more white, living lights flashed on... drawing back the veil of most of the darkness in the cavern. Though still shadows existed, dark corners of the ceiling, floor and walls. She heard Ash curse under his breath at the sight awaiting them, his grip tightening on her, and she couldn't disagree. A great seal resided on the middle of the cavern... made of what looked an ancient metal.

Perfectly circular, with a slight gap, a strip of other metal, running down the center of it. The Coma Pit it's self. She felt something rumbling against it's seal... very slightly... but the seal contained what was below. There was a second seal high up on the ceiling of the cavern, directly over top of the first on the base of the cavern. Perfectly aligned and sized, identical. What dreamer had dreamed up this place? Conjured it? Put this much power into it? She wasn't certain she wanted to know... goosebumps had already risen along her legs and arms, the back of her neck, along with her hair. She looked back up into Ash's eyes, and he met her gaze, looking equally perturbed.

"The lovebirds finally show up."

Ash almost jumped and Alice started as a familiar girl's voice echoed through the cavern around them. Anna emerged from the shadows in front of the main seal of the Pit, hands in her pockets. Dressed and looking just as she had been at the cemetery. She looked between them for a moment, expression unreadable. Alice had been so focused on the cavern, the power in it, that she hadn't noticed the girl standing there... had forgotten all about her. Anna merely nodded slightly, beckoning them down.

"Took you long enough. Didn't want to stand here by myself all night."

"Anna. This cavern... you told us... but I never imagined-

"It's something, isn't it? You read Timothy's journal? That doesn't cover anything really about the place. It's history. Just two stupid teenagers fumbling in the dark, trying to understand what can't be. Feel free to look around, Dream Master. Must feel like coming home."

With a trace of a bitter, knowing smirk, Anna turned around away from them, moving closer to the seal to examine it. While she did, Ash helped her down from the mouth of the cavern's entrance, and together they moved down closer towards the seal. Towards the center of the great chamber. She felt... life... stirring within the chamber... especially below... so much of it concentrated... not spread out as it was among the vast Dream World. It was different here... everything was. Not far from the Pit, Alice stopped them instinctively, Ash looking down at her with concern again. She directed her eyes to it... a square shape in the floor... a plate made of the same ancient metal as the two gateways. There was a single inscription on the middle of the plate... of a solitary all seeing eye. Somehow, she knew what it was already, the words forming themselves into existence and speaking through her lips.

"This is the control panel. The Conduit. I have to stand on here to operate the cavern. Access the Coma Pit. It all flows through here."

Before Ash could say or ask anything, there was a great rumble, then, ahead of them... at the doors of the Pit. At the base and above. The groaning rumble carried through the entire cavern, as though it were a living entity being awoken. Alice held on to Ash tighter, and Anna jumped back away from the Pit as though scalded. Eyes fearfully darting above and below. Alice looked back at the plate in the floor next to her and Ash, eyes narrowing on it.

"I didn't do that... I wasn't even touching it."

"No. It opened on it's own.", Anna muttered back apprehensively from off to the side... visibly keeping control of her trepidation with effort. "Another vegetative mind and soul is arriving from the Dream World to the Pit for safekeeping. Another Dreamer. Watch."

Alice followed her pointing finger with Ash, up to the ceiling seal of the Coma Pit. It was beginning to open gradually of it's own accord, the crack in the middle parting and widening, revealing gradually a void of darkness within. But as it retracted all the way... she saw it, flitting through the darkness... and knew what it was at once. Felt herself smiling. She had seen so many like it before... no less beautiful. Kristen's had been the first. A heavenly blue light... alive and slowly spinning down towards the sealed Coma Pit below. Shimmering like a star, lazily falling down to the middle of the space between both seals. The seal above began to close back up... but it was the misty blue star all three pairs of their eyes were settled on. Alice heard herself begin to speak then, her soft voice echoing through the cavern.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, the Master of Dreams my soul will keep. In the reflection of my mind's eye, evil will see itself, and it shall die".

"What was that?"

"A nursery rhyme... something my mother told me at night, before she died.", Alice murmured back to Ash, holding him tighter. Withdrawing her mother's necklace out of the night dress, showing it to him. "She didn't know how right she was. Or maybe she knew... somehow. About all this. About what I was and would be. What I had to do."

"Real cute Mother Goose shit.", Annamarie muttered dismissively, eyes not even glancing their way from off further to the side. "It's not over yet."

Then, as the seal above had, the one below began to open as well. But it was not hiding a void of darkness like the one in the ceiling had been. When it opened, as it drew back slowly... every color of the rainbow spilled forth. Living light and energy... souls and minds swirling together below in the Pit. Illuminating the entirety of the cavern and drowning out the white light and darkness. From where they all stood they could see down into it... where thousands... millions of dreamers dreamed together as one. A low sound came with it... like a chiming echo... ghost music. Dream music. A slow melody... not haunting, or sad... but all encompassing, rejuvenating. Life it's self... given sound. Alice felt her jaw dropping... awed by the all powerful nature of it. Feeling it... all of it, all of them with her. Every soul. The soul levitating in the center of the chamber continued it's slow, peaceful descent down into the Pit.

"It's so beautiful, Ashley.", Alice breathed, unable to take her eyes off of it... a smile fixing it's self on her face. "I see why Anna and Tim came here together. Have you _ever_ seen anything like it? Imagined it?"

"When I went through the time vortex, maybe. But I wasn't exactly in any condition for sight seeing by that point. This is more beautiful, though. Almost as much as you, Master of Dreams."

She did look at him, at that, to find his handsome, smiling face watching her instead of the Pit. She felt the warmth and light of the Pit inside her, all at once. And everything felt right in both of her worlds. Here with him. Both her arms rose from him, then, as they stood facing each other in the light. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pressing herself against him, and she felt both his bare hands settle on her back. They gazed deeply into each others eyes... both reflected by the Pit. Slowly, at the same time, her heart beating faster, they did what came naturally to them. They neared one another. Drawing ever closer, her eyes closing. Nothing else in the worlds mattered or existed, but the two of them in the here and now. She knew what she felt for him, and trusted it. Trusted him. She had known the moment she saw him.

"Oh lover boy!"

Anna's sing song voice suddenly called out, interrupting them. Ash and Alice's lips froze mere inches from one another... and concentration broken, they looked back down to where she stood closer to the Pit, bathed in it's colors. They ran like stripes across her front, erasing the darkness of her clothing. Beckoning him over slowly with a faintly amused, perhaps partially disgusted look. Watching the two of them.

"Make yourself useful and get over here! Help me with this! Think I found something!"

Before Alice or Ash could say anything, do anything, slowly, the seal below began to retract again automatically, closing it's self back up as the one above had. And with it vanished the colors, the living dancing, rippling lights and the music filling the cavern. Returning the cave to the white lights and the shadows of before. The silence. Ash looked very slowly at Anna with evident annoyance at the spoiled, perfect moment. Visibly grinding his rugged jawline. And then back down to Alice with concern, keeping his hands on her. Visibly uncertain. She touched his jaw again, fingers slowly tracing along it, trying to reassure and relax him from his understandable irritation.

"Are you... going to be ok?"

"I'm fine, Ash. I'm strong enough to stand here. It's feeling better than before. It feels right, being here.", She murmured back, smiling, ignoring their surroundings and Anna with all she had. Her other arm squeezed him tighter. "Go help her out. We need to explore this place thoroughly... I want to adjust to it. Understand. I've missed out on so much. I should have known about this place years ago. And... it's still a bit early in our date. She just lost her boyfriend... we shouldn't do this in what was their spot. We're here for a reason. I'll get us back to my safe place for _that_ part, after."

Ash looked back at her for a long moment... finally he nodded, understanding, satisfied smile returning. Raising a hand, his fingers stroked delicately through her red strands... looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the worlds. Her eyes closed partially at his touch... feeling relaxed in it... and missing it the instant it retracted. They withdrew from one another reluctantly, and Alice remained where she was... watching the man in blue slowly step backwards and turn away from her. Heading down after Anna to join her by the sealed Pit.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"See these ancient symbols inscribed at the edge of the Pit's door? Can you guess what they say?"

Alice watched them for a moment from where she was by the floor plate as Ash knelt down before the Pit. Anna remained standing at his side, pointing them out to him. Ash ran his hands along the inscriptions, tracing them, with an uncertain expression. Alice looked back down at the floor plate with the inscribed eye again... and wondered deeply about it. About her mother. What dreams she had dreamed of her own.

"No. I don't speak dream or soul language. And I learned the hard way not to try speaking weird languages I find aloud."

"Really? You can't understand it? I think I can.", Anna informed him with a sudden amusement, then. "It says... roughly translated of course... _'You're shit out of luck!"_

Her voice became inhumanly distorted, and Alice's head snapped up to them, heart pounding. In an instant Anne seized Ash by the throat, lifting him off the ground and turning away from the Pit door. While he was gagging and struggling to break free, smiling a jagged, yellowed, maw of teeth at Alice, she stepped away from the Pit further, stopping not far in front of Alice's position at the Conduit. Setting Ash back down on his feet but wrapping and locking her arm around his midsection, while her hand slammed down on his mouth, muffling him. Ash fought desperately against her, eyes bulging, trying to resist, but was held in place like a child.

"Ash! Anna what are-

What was within Anna burst free from her rippling, twitching flesh, blood, bones, skeleton and organs, then. It sprayed everywhere and separated in a geyser all over the floor of the cavern around them and all over Ash, soaking him through from head to toe. The... _thing_ that had been hiding away beneath emerged in the same spot, same stance that Anna had been in, taller and wider. A razor gloved hand clamped down over Ash's mouth instead of a bare one. Her concentration shattered, Ash's struggling hand became a gauntlet again, and all of his bruises, cuts and bandages returned. Part of the sleeve of a red and green striped sweater wrapped around his midsection, a burnt, pulsating hand holding him to the spot effortlessly, restraining him. A hat visibly perched atop it's bloodied head, though still he wore her long, black, blood soaked coat. Droplets and pieces of stained flesh dripping freely from it, her carcass sloughed around it's boots and Ash's.

"_You_."

"_Me. What's the matter, Alice? You change outfits more often than I do."_, The Nightmare Master grinned back at her malevolently, pieces of Anna's skull, brains, flesh and blood running down his burnt, sneering face. Leering red eyes looking over her form as his gloved hand fastened tighter over Ash's mouth. _"Always loved the white nightie on a little girl... especially staining it together. I still remember you wearing one for me, when we first met. Walking down my corridors. Were you thinking of me when you chose this? You were so much more innocent, then... pure... worthy of wearing it. But time makes fools of us all."_

"What the _fuck_ did you do to her?!"

"_What does it look like? She didn't expect me to be waiting for her... and neither did you. But I am generous, I rewarded her for her assistance with a reunion. She's in the same place as her boyfriend, now. The same place yours has been... and the same place your new squeeze will be."_

"Let him go. Now.", Alice murmured as cold as ice, feeling the same coldness swell up inside her. Her hand at her side tensing into a fist. "I'm not afraid of you, Krueger. He isn't afraid of you."

"_He needn't fear me. He only needs to have fears... he has them, and so do you... it is a matter of which to exploit appropriately. And when. You fear what I will do to your loved ones, if not me directly. Besides... there are more than enough in Springwood who do fear me, again."_

"I know what happened to you, after last time. You became decrepit, old, pathetic. A joke. I wish I could have seen you like that. I really do. It was too good a fate for you."

"_Even the best of us have a brush with our own mortality... not that I am mortal. Yes... they stopped fearing me... but all it takes is the innocence of a child. We both know the power of the freshest souls. I kept my promise to Georgie... he is right here, with me. With us. And besides... your eyes were cast so far away... off in your own part of Wonderland."_

Alice looked to Ash, seeing his enraged eyes... his struggle. He wasn't used to such a powerlessness. Fighting against a demon like this. Here in the Dream World. She had thought the Pit safe... taken the word of the journal. She hadn't taken the time to train him properly, first. If she had... no. This was Krueger's fault. All of it. He attacked those who couldn't fight back. She already knew that. No longer seeing the thing behind him, she spoke to Ash alone, drawing in his attention. Spoke to him with a slow, soothing voice. Eyes not wavering from his.

"Ashley. Try to relax. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise. I'm going to stop him."

"_Like you protected the children when they needed you most? How sweet. I might vomit... somehow I didn't before, watching the pair of you carry on. I must confess, I expected a warmer reception. You and I are tied together forever, Alice... deeper bonds than you share with this... out of towner. Why don't you come over here to daddy and give him a kiss?"_

"No. We aren't. Your mother purged you from me... Jacob purged you from me. You failed. You always do."

"_True... I did then... temporarily... but I tore myself once more from the whore's necrotic womb. So she failed too... as did you. And where is the bastard? Where are you hiding my boy from me? In his safe place, or awake? I caught but a glimpse of him before, iin your room. His mother's lustful eye is busily focused elsewhere now. Fixating on a would be hero she would have replace her Danny Boy... and on me."_

"Don't you talk about Jacob or Dan. Not now. Not ever. They got away from you. Greta and Mark as well. They dragged you screaming and sobbing back to your mother, you worthless bastard. All the others got away as well. I watched them tearing you apart, a piece at a time... watched you crying."

"_Oh. A nerve touched. Good. He screamed before he went, Alice. Screamed for you. Screamed after too, as you recall I'm sure. I fused him with a motorcycle, fitted the wiring through his flesh and pumped oil and acceleration fluid through his body. I tore his scalp from his skull and made him watch it all. I made him feel pain like I never had to anyone before. Just for you. He never even knew about the bastard growing in your womb, did he, cunt? I still think about that and laugh. It kept me warm, at my coldest. And I wonder what else I should have done to him. Still... even Danny Boy resisted more than this one... was stronger. And that's saying a great deal."_

It took all Alice had to remain where she was, at that. To not charge at him... attack him with all she had left in this place. She focused on Ash as best she could... he was all that mattered. Not that hateful, enraging leer behind him. Not his foul words. No matter how much she wanted to kill him in the worst possible ways. Torment and torture him in every way he had his victims. He heard them screaming now beneath his sweater... he no longer hid it. Dozens of them... including Georgie, Timothy and Annamaria. People who had counted on her, looked up to her... people she had burned with her inaction. Well... she was acting now. And she wouldn't turn her gaze again. It hardened.

"You can't be here, Krueger. Not here. Not now."

"_And why not?"_

"You have fears too. I know what they are."

"_Yes. Which you sought to exploit. You become more worthy of me every day, Alice. More like me."_

"You never come here. It said so in Timothy's journal. You're afraid of this place. You stink of fear right now."

"_Yes. I am afraid of it. I'd be a fool not to fear it. You feel the power here... so can I. It hurts me just to stand here. Hurt me worse when the Pit was open."_, Krueger's rasping growl admitted to her... and for the first time in her life she believed him. Krueger went silent for a moment, considering something that deepened his horrific grin. "_But do you want to know something, Alice? The truth is... somewhere along the line... I came to hate you more than I fear anything. Hate is a hell of an anaesthetic. Or perhaps I should say... we came to hate you. I am not the only enemy you've unwisely made."_

"We? You're alone, Krueger. You've always been alone. No allies, no friends, nobody who ever loved you... apart from your own wife and daughter... until you killed them too. The only good in your life and you erased them. I know about that too. There is nothing but you and your hatred. You're fucking pathetic. And _you_ made _me_... you created your own enemy. Enemies. Things like _you_ can't help yourselves."

"_You are wrong... you always have been. You, little Kristen, Lisa and Nancy. None of you had any idea. But I will tell you... show you alone... because you are special to me, Alice, as they were not."_

Before Alice could say or do anything, the rippling and pulsating under Krueger's flesh worsened. His horrible grin deepened, and his eyes flashed a brighter red. There was a ripping as they burst free from the back of his sweater and flesh and Anna's coat, uncoiling themselves from one another and rising towering over them all. Alice's eyes slowly rose to track them, and she felt her lips parting, taking a single step backwards unconsciously. As they emerged, Krueger's grip tightened on Ash... something in this hand affected him, and his head slumped forward... eyes growing dazed, rolling up in his head so far she saw the whites. Closing as he almost mercifully blacked out. Three squirming, massive, thick serpentine beings with slick, bloodied, grey flesh had risen overhead behind Ash and Krueger... each with a pair of brightly yellow glowing eyes. Burning in the shadows down at her. Each of them with a drooping void for a maw, carrying nothing but darkness within. When they spoke to her, it was a haunting, otherworldly wailing chorus... three as one. As they were in form.

"_**Dream Master... at last we are met. Face to face to face to face."**_

"What... the _fuck_... are _you_?"

"_**We? We are the Dream Demons. We are eternal. The eaters of minds and worlds. Of imagination. The eaters of dreams... and Dream Masters. Did you think yourself the first, girl? Did you think yourself special? You are but one more of the many past. As we are three of many. You are the latest, particularly irritating thorn in our sides... but one we have finally plucked."**_

"You gave Krueger his power, didn't you?", Alice spoke to them again in a voice so calm it might not have been her own. She stared at Krueger holding Ash, tapping into his mind, and up to each of the coiling, glowing eyed serpents. Worms. "When the parents of Elm Street burned the fucker, you came to him with an offer."

"_**Yesssss... he is the perfect vessel... of all the depraved minds we searched and considered for our instrument. The only one worthy of us... worthy of being the Nightmare Master. Far more worthy of his station than you of yours. Now, stand aside from the Conduit, girl... we all know how this is going to end. Leave yourself some small remainder of dignity."**_

Alice went silent, looking down at the Conduit... and then back to the giant abomination Krueger had become. No... always had been. She just had never seen him more clearly, than here and now. And she looked to Ash, unconscious in his grip... helpless. Because of her decisions. She had to set that right. She had many things she still needed to set right. Without hesitation, she stepped on to the Conduit, staring back at them. The ancient plate in the ground with the eye recognized her at once, and began to shine with blue light. She had stood there before, she was certain. In another life. A million other lives. Perhaps... including her mother's. The light... it shone from her mother's necklace as well.

She felt the power of the entire cavern, the Coma Pit, surging through her... felt the locks and doorways greater than she had before. All the souls in the cavern she was meant to protect, including Ash's. But she could not feel a soul in the Dream Demons. And every tortured soul she felt in Krueger were not his own. She had been right. He didn't have one any longer. The Coma Pit would obliterate a soulless thing like him... or seal him away forever. She was certain of that now. She didn't take her eyes off the Dream Demons that held the knight who had fallen through time. Jacob's knight. _Her_ knight. She spoke to them with all the cold, righteous fury encompassing her.

"Give Ash back to me... and I won't do to all of you what I always should have. What I was meant to do. I can lock the chamber... you won't be able to escape back to the greater Dream World. To run away and hide again. I can open the door to the Coma Pit. This _my_ domain. Not yours. Now let him go!"

A silence settled over the cavern, as Krueger and the Dream Demons surveyed her, where she stood on the Conduit. She stared back at their glowing eyes without blinking... daring them to attack her. To try. Instead all four of them laughed at her, a foul, malicious laughter that polluted the cavern with it's blasphemous echo. Mocking everything and everyone in existence, just by existing, not merely her. Laughter rolling from a maw of razor teeth, and three bottomless voids of nightmares. When their laughter finally died away... the chorus of the three began again, among the writhing serpents.

"_**Yes. It is your domain. And you can. And doing so will take up all your power and most of your focus, holding open the gate and keeping shut the locks. Who will protect you in the meantime? And who will force us into the Pit while it is open? We have your little would be Dream Hero right here, where we wanted him to be. You brought him right to us, again. He doesn't even believe... his puny mind is full of doubts, pain and nightmares. Lacking in imagination. Weak."**_

_**"If you take control of the Pit, you will be vulnerable. We will be able to kill you effortlessly. Without you alive and channeling the Conduit, the locks binding us to this cavern will release. The Pit will close. Then we will possess Ashley, awaken, kill your screaming bastard heir, your father and Yvonne. Make you watch. Do you think some chains will hold our earthly vessel down? Really? Do you take us for Deadites? A stupid plan from a stupid man, far outside of his only field of expertise."**_

"_**And should you choose to wake now and leave him with us, try to wake him... you don't have the will to allow your father and Yvonne to chop up and shoot our vessel, if indeed they even possess it. Would you do so and risk losing your dear sweet Ashley's life? Breaking your promise to him? As you lost so many others? No... you are weakened by your mortal attachments. You are nothing. NOTHING. Human. We have always existed. You are finite. We know your station and domain better than you yourself."**_

"You planned all this... while I was away.", Alice murmured at last slowly, staring back at the four things and hating them. Hating them as she had hated nothing before. With every part of her soul and being. All at once feeling powerless... even as she felt her control over this cavern realm. They were speaking the truth to her, now... they knew they could afford to. "While you were hiding from me like the fucking cowards you are, down in some dark place. Festering in hate. It was all leading to this."

"_**We feel your hate as well. It reverberates out from you to us. We had nothing but time to fester. To think. To dwell. And see now how it has served us. We are feared once more... returned to strength and power... and prepared to reshape the Dream World in our image. We will be, once you and your heir are dead... once we take your failed protector and make him our own. And now you are in checkmate, Dream Master. No matter your next decision. Lock us in. Open the Pit. Go ahead now... see how well such actions serve you. Make it simpler for us."**_

Alice was frozen, within and without, at the Conduit. Her mouth opened... and no words could come out. The locks and doors were right at the fingers she formed in her mind... but she could not turn the key. So close, but too far. All she could think of was Jacob... of her father and Yvonne. And she couldn't take her eyes off Ash standing before the Pit. They had her, and they knew it. None of her power mattered now. Nothing she could do on her own could stop them. Because she was alone. She had neglected her duties too long and failed... once and for all. Failed everyone. Failed Ash... the man she was supposed to prepare. To teach. To guide... as Nancy had guided the others.

She tried to think of an out... a way out of anything, everything... and she couldn't. There was nothing. They had thought of every possibility already. Knew vastly more than she did, about how it all worked. While they had been biding their time down in the darkness. Patiently waiting. They were Dream Demons that had always existed... had eaten countless other dreamers like her... she was a messed up twenty four year old, trying and failing to be a Dream Master. Fucking around with things she didn't fully understand. No less than the teenager's had with Krueger. She felt her will leaving her a bit at a time... and her resolve was slipping with it.

"_**No? If the Dream Master is incapable of making a difficult decision, sacrificing... what good is she?", **_The Dream Demons asked at last silkily, expecting no answer. Receiving none. _**"Very well then. We shall make one for you. He is ours. All ours. We will let you watch it become so from your world. Before we take your world away from you. Goodbye, Alice."**_

There was more tearing from Krueger's back as on either side of it, massive wings unfolded... leathery and pulsating veins. Tearing through the sweater and coat as the tendrils had. Blood soaked, as the three things were. Krueger looked back over to the frozen Alice again, and he laughed, pulling the unconscious Ash in against himself tighter.

"_See you around Wonderland, Alice. Or much sooner and closer to home.", _Krueger's maw of razor teeth sneered over Ash's shoulder._ "Can't wait to visit Jacob again. See how my favourite boy is growing."_

In an instant, they burst into flight, soaring upward to the top of the cavern. Before Alice could even react, think to lock down the cavern, they vanished beyond it. Jumping off the plate Alice took flight after them, with all the focus and power she had, giving pursuit. She tore through the cavern and back out into the greater Dream World, screaming after them. The moment she did. that presence and the strange feelings the Coma Pit drew faded away entirely. She caught sight of them somewhere high above, and rushed as fast as she could, passing by millions of other dreamers along the way. The Dream Demons were a dark, inhuman shape flitting across the skies of realm... fast... too damned fast. Faster than her out here, no matter how hard she tried.

Her eyes remained on Ash's form dangling under Krueger's arm... his eyes were open now and staring back down at her... but not seeing her. And she knew what he _was_ seeing... what they were forcing on him. And in another instant, somehow they all vanished as one. Somehow they disappeared mid air and she was unable to even sense them... here or anywhere. They were masking him... or had flashed to some remote part of the Dream World... or both. But when she tried to imagine Ash, Krueger, or the things... no fix locked on to their positions. No images of where they were came to her, as they should have. They were gone, and she was blind. Screaming with rage, she flew upwards instead... back to her other world. Back to the land of the living. Back to her now living nightmare.

* * *

Alice woke with a gasping start. Without a moment's hesitation, jumping up from her seat at once and taking her father and Yvonne off guard. Heart racing, she ignored them, rushing to the bed and leaning over it, shaking the man in steel chains still lying asleep on it.

"Ash! Wake up! You need to wake up!"

She patted his bruised face and shook him again. Called his name, did everything she could to wake him. But he didn't, he remained as he was, eyes shut... and away in some dark place far far away. Somewhere where they had him all to themselves. Somewhere she couldn't protect him. Couldn't even see him.

"Alice? What the hell happened?", Her father's voice shouted somewhere behind her. She felt hands on her back but she ignored them, frantic. "What's going on?"

"Krueger was waiting for us... they were waiting for us."

"Waiting for you? How? You said he was too afraid of the Pit!"

"I know what I said, dad! I was wrong! I fucked it all up!"

Breathing deeply, Alice pealed back each of Ash's eyelids, and what she saw gave her pause. One of them had gone all the red, amber and malevolence of Krueger's... but the other remained Ash's warm brown. He wasn't tugging at the chains, pulling or struggling against them physically... trying to escape... because Krueger didn't have him yet. At least... not all of him. For how long he could hold out, she couldn't be sure.

"He's fighting it... from within. But I don't know what to do... I don't... he isn't conscious. We can't get through to him... and I can't find him anywhere in the Dream World. They're hiding him from me..."

"Who are?"

"Them... the Dream Demons... they're too powerful... stronger than me alone... too..."

Alice looked over to the other seat next to Ash's bed, to find Jacob still sitting in it silently. Leaning back against it, fast asleep. In a panic, heart pounding, Alice flew to the other side of the bed, past Yvonne, to his side and knelt down, gently working to bring him back around.

"Jacob! Wake up for mommy!", She called to him frantically, lightly tapping his face, speaking in his ear. Hearing little more than her own heart pounding in her head at that point. Feeling the sickening mixture of revulsion, of guilt. Trying to draw him back from the Dream World. She had already lost Ash, she would not lose him as well. "You need to get out of there! Get away from them!"

Slowly, Jacob's eyes began to open. Her eyes, staring back at her. More innocent than hers had ever been.

"Mommy?"

"It's ok baby, it's ok.", Alice murmured back, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in tight. Shaking hands settling on his back as she rubbed it. "It's all going to be ok... we just need to... I..."

She held him closer... feeling her body shudder, not knowing what else to say, or do. Frozen as she had been down in the cavern. Fresh, deepening grief overcoming even the horror. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and cheeks. She thought of Ash and she felt such shame, unable to look back at him on the bed. Remorse for what she had done. It had been supposed to be safe. A place where he couldn't go. Her domain... but he had been there, they had been there. Giving Krueger power she had never seen him carry before.

Countless years old entities fueling him and his depravity, beyond measure. More souls inside him than ever before. She had not done her duty... she had been charged with it, looking out for Ash, and she had failed him. Her one shot at getting it right. And now he struggled against tireless demons... subjected him to horrors she didn't want to fathom... but could. A fate she had delivered him into herself. She felt Jacob's little hands rubbing her back, then, as she shook. And then she heard his soft, innocent voice in her ear, doing what it always did... passing through the cloud draped over her soul.

"Don't cry mommy. There's still hope. Sister Mary is ready to see you. Sir Ash needs us."


	8. The Dream Hero IV

"_You are resisting the change! This will not do. What manner of poison did that cunt and her bastard spawn pour down your ears, Ashy Slashy? Was it hope? Was it love?"_

The stream of memories ran by Ash's vision, all of his senses... where he really was, he couldn't say. But he knew where he was in the memories. He was with Cheryl, again. Linda. He was a young man... a son, a brother, a friend and a lover. He was planning a trip to Jacksonville with Linda, for after the trip to the cabin. He was laughing with Scotty and catching a football with him... at Scotty's insistence of course. He was tuning up the Delta with his old man for his first date, out in the front yard. The radio playing while they worked. He was staring at Linda for the first time as they worked together at the S-Mart... she was smiling at him as she bagged items at the checkout counter. Tucking her in as she slept, kissing her on the cheek again. He tried to maintain those memories, strengthen them... but they ebbed and flowed, dimmed partially in the struggle.

He seized on to newer, fresher, more powerful memories. Of Alice's smiling face behind the counter of the Crave Inn... in her uniform, those blue eyes watching him warmly. Alice driving the Delta up and down the blocks of Springwood... stealing glances at one another. The two of them, sitting together on the Delta and watching her horrified neighbors watching them. Of Jacob at the counter, showing Ash his drawings... and of knighting the boy at his home. The awe and wonder when he had seen Ash's gauntlet and chainsaw... the breastplate. These images and memories remained strong... so he seized on to them with all he had left in him. Wherever he was, he felt droplets running down his cheeks. Ash felt Krueger and the other things' revulsion and pain at the memories, their grip on him slackening just a tiny bit... but not enough for him to pull away from them. They were too strong... stronger than him, and more numerous. Four on one. With far more power and knowledge of how the Dream World worked. What was he, without even his good memories? What hope did he have against them?

"_Revolting illusions, nothing more. Pathetic. Here... let us show you your true world."_

They tore past his good memories and plunged deeper into the basin of his mind. The chainsaw was in his hands again, fired up, and the head of the thing that had been his girlfriend was screaming at him. Cursing at him, telling him what had become of her soul. Laughing and spitting up blood at him from the vice grip. The hag in the cellar was pulling him through the stairs again laughing. His mutilated, possessed sister and Scotty were beating and stabbing him as he lie on the ground in front of the fire, trying to reach the book. He felt every stab, every kick all over again, piercing him. Professor Knowby... that bastard... his hateful voice pouring out of the tape, chanting. His own severed hand stabbing the Professor's poor daughter through the back with the dagger.

Cheryl possessed and levitating in front of them, spinning around in a circle, that inhuman voice pouring out of her. Cheryl throwing him through a bookshelf while Linda screamed from the pencil jutting out of her bleeding ankle. Cheryl ripping it back out and advancing on him as he struggled to get out from under the shelf. The horrific screams of the thing that had been Shelly. Watching Scotty dismembering her with the axe as the Deadite Cheryl screamed from the cellar. Scotty's bloodied corpse sitting on the couch... the bourbon Ash was trying to give him to ease the pain running down his face. One memory at a time, Krueger and his benefactors beat him down steadily, and he felt their heated pleasure in doing so. Making it more difficult to focus on his other memories.

"_That is your world, Ashley. You were right to doubt Alice... you are not the Dream Hero... you never were. The whore and the bastard were wrong to drag you into all this. Something you were never part of and had no place in. To lie to you. But now that you are here, we can improve you... make you better than you were. Better than what they would have had you be. They would have had you serve them. We only want you to be what you are."_

And he saw the book again... bound in flesh and inked in blood. It's jagged mouth. The book began to open, it's darkness pouring off the pages. As that shone in his vision, he felt the horrible hunger and desire of the four. Longing. They couldn't hide it from him, even as they tormented him, in their mirth. So that was what they were after, apart from him and the others. They had an end goal in mind for the rest of the world, once they had succeeded. It always seemed to come down to that goddamn book.

"_Surrender to us now... give in... and we shall end your torment. We may even let you see Cheryl and Linda again. Wouldn't that be nice?"_

After they killed Alice, Jacob, her father and Yvonne... did unimaginable things to them... they would make him take them to the book. Transform the world into one where only nightmares like them existed. Conquer two worlds. They had more than the means to pull it off... and had waited for so long. They wanted it? They would never have it. He shut the image of the opening Necronomicon in his mind, and sealed it shut, vanishing it from view. He seized back on to Alice and Jacob, wherever they were, with all he had left. That pissed them off to no measure. He heard the three's furious roar in his entirety, and knew it would cost him dearly.

"_**You are ours Ashley! Ours! AND YOU WILL OBEY US! YOU ARE WEAK! WE ARE STRONG! NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES HERE YOU WILL SUBMIT AND AWAKEN TO YOUR NIGHTMARES!"**_

The cabin returned around them... and all the horrors that came with it. The blinding pain continued with the images. The memories. His and theirs... of the souls inside their body. All the agony, every facet of it. Tormenting him, in ways the Deadites hadn't been able to. The Dream Demons had eaten billions of dreamers, through the entirety of mankind. Had almost always gotten their way. They were born of the same Hell that had spawned the Dark Ones... but they were different. They existed in a realm he had no power. No... almost no power. All he had left was a weakening resistance... resisting, until they shattered him once and for all. As they surely must. Ash knew that if he had a mouth left... wherever he was now... he would be screaming with it. And if he still had his hand... one finger would be raised on it. He held on to Alice and Jacob's dimming, smiling faces for dear life... and as he had never done before... he prayed for deliverance.


	9. The Dream Master IV

Alice looked back at the stranger in the bathroom mirror. The pale, tired girl who looked like her. She couldn't be quite sure of that though. Seven people stared back out at her. Her friends and her brother... and the three Alice's she had become. Perhaps there was an eighth her now... since he had walked into her life the other day. All she knew was however many of her there were... whatever the stakes were... this was their only chance. Their only chance left. There was no other choice... and there was no hesitation in her. Casting off her night dress, she began to change. Pulling on her old worn blue jeans and fastening them with Debbie's belt. Pulling on her grey shirt, she buttoned it up at once, then took her hairband and tied back the fiery strands securely in a ponytail. She pulled on and laced up her dark combat boots, tightening and knotting them up.

Reaching for Rick's hand wraps, she wrapped the white bandages tautly and securely around each of her hands and wrists, flexing them into fists to make sure they held up. Then she reached for Debbie's spiked wristband, slapping it on to her left and tightening it there. Taking Rick's headband last, she drew it over her head, the rising sun among the white material burning back at her in the mirror. Then she took up her weapons, slipping Rick's nunchaku into Debbie's belt to hang there by the chain and clipping Sheila's sonic device on the opposite side of her hip. The young woman from Timothy's journal was looking back at her, finally. The Dream Master. More or less. Only a couple items were missing. Turning from her reflection, she left the bathroom and marched back into her bedroom. Yvonne and her father looked up at once, startled by the sight of her... perhaps not recognizing the woman who entered. Jacob remained by Ash's side, holding his gauntlet and watching over him, keeping a silent vigil

Ash's condition was worsening... taut veins exposed in his face and neck... features twitching and contorting now and again. But still he fought his own battle, keeping his eyes shut, not pulling against the chains. At least, not yet. With the sight of him fresh in mind, pulse racing, she strode past her father and Yvonne and made her way for her closet, opening it up. Reaching inside, she withdrew Debbie's leather jacket and put it on over her form, stretching her limbs and looking down, examining it. She was going to go retrieve Rick's sunglasses in the dresser, when her eyes paused on the suitcase on the floor inside... and then up to the maroon leather coat hanging in her closet. The long claw mark running down it's torn back.

Her eyes moved over to the front pocket of the coat... and she saw it dangling from the pocket. Reaching over she withdrew Ash's sunglasses, looking them over, and tucking them into the front pocket of her own jacket. When she had, she went over to the bed, the opposite side from Jacob... and sitting down beside it, she leaned over Ash's chained form. Looked down into his sweat streaked, pained features. Leaning closer down to him, she set her hand on his sweat soaked, bruised brow, fingers trailing along it gently. And she leaned down to his ear... her soothing voice murmured for him to hear... and hoped the ones tormenting him on the other side heard as well.

"Tell that bastard I'm coming to kill him. Coming to save you. Don't let him win, Ashley. You're stronger than he is... you already proved that before. And you are now. You are _not_ 'Ashy Slashy'. You _are_ the Dream Hero. And I _need_ you. _We_ need you. We _believe_ in you."

No response came back to her from his cut up lips... she didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. It was not Krueger's voice she ever wanted to hear again... least of all from his lips. All she could do was pray that he heard it, somehow, somewhere. That it helped. That it made some difference for him. Not just the relief she felt in admitting it to him. Hand gently stroking his face a little more, she forced herself to stand again, looking between him, and back over to her son.

"Jacob. It's time for us to go."

At once, her son looked back up at her... staring at her in awe. She wondered how she must look from the eyes of a five year old... the power of a costume. Like one of Mark's superhero, maybe. She hoped her own imagination still held up at least a bit compared to his. That the years and the minds she shared had not taken it away from her. She wondered how the other dreamers Krueger had taken would have looked at her in it, if she had come to guide them as she should have. In her absence, they had built her up into something she wasn't... something more. Something she'd never wanted to be. But... now something she had to be. For them. For those who were left. And... for Ash. Ash had stopped running away for her... and now she would stop running away for him. Slowly, Jacob withdrew from Ash's side, made his way around the bed and joined her. Picking him up, she carried him over to and sat them down on the chair next to Ash, and she leaned back in it. She looked back over to her father and her best friend, looking between them. Speaking with a cold hard resolve that had formed within her.

"Nobody else. Krueger doesn't get one more soul. I will stop him... I will destroy him... and I will bring Jacob and Ash back."

"I know you will, Alice.", Her father beamed back at her proudly, in spite of the evident fear in his eyes. He rubbed Jacob's head, and squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. "You're my daughter. Just... be careful. You have so many who need you."

"Just be safe, girl. And kick his ass. Go get your man. And come home in one piece."

Alice shared a look and nod of understanding with Yvonne. In spite of the insanity of the situation, she adapted. She was rock steady and dependable as ever. She hoped she knew how much Alice relied on her. Her strength. And then she looked to Ash for what might be the last time... made herself watch his struggle she had caused. His tug of war with the things beyond. What they must have been doing to him, showing him. That he was able to resist them told her enough... told her that hope was not yet lost. A tiny sliver of it remained. And it was the only way. Finally, she looked back to Jacob, he held her back tight, sitting on her lap... those blue eyes peering back at her innocently. She smiled at him, and nodded.

"Sir Jacob... please show mommy where Sister Mary is."

"Here."

Their eyes closed together in unison... and they fell from one world into another together. Holding each other. Together, they flew, across the dreamscape as they so often had. It had never frightened him, as it had Yvonne, her father and Ash... even herself. Why should it frighten a child, flying? Every child wished for that. She heard his precious laughter... saw his smile flashing across the eternity. The warmth inside him... it radiated to her. She felt no darkness, with him... ever. She felt as young as he was. The girl she had been. Alice the Dreamer. It could never last... dreams never did... nor should they, she was coming to learn the hard way. But that didn't mean they couldn't last, or endure. Beside her, Jacob squeezed her hand, and with his other pointed down to it as they flew. Down to his dream... his own mind's eye. She felt it... fixated on it, and together they let it encompass them. Alice opened her eyes to find them standing somewhere in the night, the moon and stars shining down on them. Standing on stone stairs before a great, open metal gate. Before she could survey it, she felt him tug at her wrist, and looked down to him at her side.

"This is it mommy!", Jacob whispered excitedly up at her, tugging her wrist again. He pointed upwards, off in the distance beyond the gate. "There she is! She's waiting for us!"

Alice's eyes rose to find two great pathways of stone stairs leading up around a statue and fountain, ascending ever higher. There at the top of the stairs stood a mighty Gothic cathedral on the hill... with a clock tower to rival it overhead. The clock slowly chiming, it's echo carrying out over the misty land. A number of smaller but impressive towers around the cathedral roof as well. Gargoyles lining rooftops and pillars. A number of great moonlight stricken white crosses atop the towers. She had been here before, years ago... had never forgotten about it... and now it was every bit Jacob's memory as hers. It was where she had faced Krueger the first time... watched his rebirth... and met his mother. The Church. The Hathaway House. Far more elaborate and alive in the Dream World... than the decaying ruin that it was in the real one. It was to the pair of large, open doors in the distance that Jacob directed her attention to. There standing in the doorway was a ghostly, shimmering figure garbed from head to toe in white. A white nun's gown flowing in the cool night wind around the figure. The figure turned after a moment, and vanished back inside. Once it had, Alice gripped her son's hand a little tighter.

"Come on, Jacob. Let's get up there to see her."

"There are so many stairs. I'll carry you, mommy. Like a chivalrous knight. Like Sir Ash said."

Alice watched in silence as Jacob began to change... to grow before her very eyes. Her little boy became a mass of blue steel... medieval plate armor, from boots to helmet. Shrouded in a billowing, hooded blue cloak of smooth velvet material. His chestplate had a proud lion imprinted on it in black, roaring back at her defiantly. A great sheathed sword appeared on his belt, to match the shield that rested securely on his back.

He towered over her... she had to look right up at him... but it made no difference, all she saw was her little boy. The richness of his imagination at work. She had never seen him in this particular form... but knew the seed of inspiration from which it had grown. A Dream Child. A Dream Warrior. A Dream Knight. A knight of the mind's eye. She felt herself smiling up at him, more proud of him than she could say. Kneeling down, he took her small form into his gauntlet and plate encased arms and lifted her from the ground as effortlessly as she could him in the real world, turning them back towards the stairs of the cathedral. And it was not a great booming or muffled voice that issued from the mouth of his closed helmet, but the child he was. Her baby boy.

"Hang on tight Lady Alice."

"Thank you, Sir Jacob."

The moment she did, he was up and away, long plated legs bustling up one of the two stairwells. Ascending the great distance with ease. She watched it all soar by... looking back to where they had stood at the gate, and where they were now. Rapidly drawing closer to the top, to the cathedral doors. Her boy wasn't the least bit tired... he flew like the wind, his long blue cloak pillowing like a flag behind them. It wasn't long at all before they reached the top... and reaching the top, he gently put her back down on her feet. She looked again backwards, out over the land, to the gates and beyond, to the star filled skies and the moonlight that glinted on her son's blue armor. And then she took his gauntlet into her hand silently, and together they passed through the open doors and inside the cathedral.

Part of her expected to see the haunting, sprawling corridors of the asylum, once more... as it had been the last time... but mercifully that was not to be. The great chamber where she had first faced him as the Dream Master awaited them instead, lined with pews and balconies and illuminated in candle and moonlight streaming through the stain glass windows. The doors closed behind them, echoing through it's entirety, as they moved up together down the aisle. There at the distant alter the figure in white stood before the alter, silently praying with her head bowed. When they reached her, they paused where they were... and when she finished praying, she turned to face them. Appraising them both... the pale face Alice recognized at once. Jacob gently let go of her hand and moved closer to the nun, giant form going down to one knee before her and the alter, his blue cloak falling around him and brushing against the floor.

"Sister Mary. I have brought my mommy."

"So you have, Sir Jacob.", Sister Mary laughed warmly, a twinkling merry sound, moving over closer to the kneeling knight. She set a gentle hand atop his metal shoulder, looking down to his helmet. "Well done, my valiant and noble knight. You are a true servant of God. You may arise. I have matters to discuss with your mommy."

Jacob obeyed at once and rose up from the floor, looming over the two women... looking between them. The knight promptly moved off to the side a little awkwardly, leaving the alter for the two women and standing still. Observing them like a sentinel on guard duty. Once he had, Sister Mary turned from him and back slowly to Alice. A fond smile that had not been there the last time they met touching her lips as their eyes met again. Nodding her veiled head slowly.

"The innocence of children. And their imaginations. The most beautiful, powerful things in either world. It's why monsters like _them_ crave their souls. The Dream Demons. Why they are never sated. Nor the appetite of any they inhabit."

"Amanda... you're still here... it's really _you_. After all this time."

"Yes. Though the hour grows late."

"How... why? Yvonne set you free."

"I failed you. Failed to contain him... to contain them. They escaped from me... greatly weakened, yes, but existing. Continuing. So long as he exists in any form... my son is my responsibility. I will never know true rest. That is my burden, as a mother. My penance."

Sister Mary smiled at her sadly, and looked around the cathedral. Seemingly lost in forlorn thought. But withdrawing from it the moment Alice found her voice.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner? Come to me directly instead of through Jacob? If I'd known..."

"Because you were so far away... content to dream your beautiful dreams. Comfortable with your new found station in life. Drifting away. Growing as a mother, instead of as a Dream Master. I wished to guide Jacob, in my own way, as I once did you."

"I was too deeply in my own dreams... living in illusions. Alice the Dreamer. With people, long gone... to a better place. I was hiding... in my own way, as Krueger was. Just hiding in warm memories, instead of hate."

"Yes. Bittersweet memories. They are a tempting font for one to drown within, especially for one who has suffered as greatly as you have."

"All those teenagers... the children of Springwood... I wasn't there to guide them. Protect them. In my absence they ran wild. Woke him again. I wasn't fulfilling my duties."

"No. You weren't. But it's not too late to. It's never too late."

"You sent Ash to me for a reason. Didn't you?", Alice asked her quietly at last, looking from the nun to the knight in blue, and back again. "For me and Jacob... why?"

"I didn't send him, child. Merely relayed a message, from the one who did."

"What message?"

"That you are not alone, Alice, even when things seem darkest. In life or in your dreams. That there is always hope. Always someone who loves you. Who will protect you, if you protect them. No matter the form that person takes."

"And I failed him. I failed you. I failed everyone who ever counted on me. I didn't heed Jacob's drawing of the Pit, with Krueger... you warned me and I didn't think... all I did was fixate on the one of Ash. I thought it would be safe to go to the Pit with him. To Annamarie. That Krueger was afraid. I read all the Chronicler's notes. The passion there in his words... I believed in myself, as he believed in me."

"He _was_ afraid... but your paths are too tightly bound together now. It has to end with one of you dead... and he knows it. Fears it. They hid away within that poor girl to protect themselves, from the radiant, beautiful light of that place. As they hide inside my son. They would only come out when they are assured of victory. Now he has Annamarie and Timothy's souls... and the others still trapped within."

"Krueger killed so many of them already... and he still has Ash.", Alice swallowed, forcing back the tears and grief that threatened. That burned raw in her throat. Her wrapped hand tightened into a shaky fist at her side, clenching. The steel inside her hardening. "I'm here to save him. To bring him back. I must."

"You won't save him from them.", Sister Mary assured her quietly. "Not with _those_."

Her eyes lowered down on Alice, and Alice followed her gaze to her belt. To Rick's wooden nunchaku and Sheila's sonic device. Understanding at once, and feeling sudden shame at the sadness and pity in the nun's eyes.

"You honor your fallen friends... your family... but that is not the path to freeing Ashley. That is my son's way. Nor was that how you stopped him before."

"I have to _try_, Sister. It's all I have left. I let it happen. I delivered him to them... these Dream Demons... and I never even prepared him properly for any of it. I was a stranger, and I dropped everything on him and expected him to become someone else overnight. I'm not a teacher... a leader. I couldn't save anyone. I couldn't save Dan, Rick, Kristen... any of my dead friends. I'm not worthy of being the Dream Master. I'm _nothing_. No matter how hard I try."

By now she couldn't fight back the tears that stung her eyes. They fell freely down her face, and she lowered her head, ashamed. The steel inside her weakening. Silently weeping, her heart pounding in her ears. She was supposed to be in control... disciplined. Strong. But she couldn't fight them. Amanda's slow, calm, gentle voice, and her hand at her shoulder... brought her back around.

"Nobody is nothing. It is only in our suffering... confessing our sins and failures... that we might find redemption. Find ourselves. Hope. A chance. And choice. Choice exists... even when it all feels so predetermined, or hopeless. Everyone's path is their own. For good or evil. Faith... strength... is forged at the lowest point. In our trials."

Alice looked up into the woman's gentle, reassuring eyes. The strength and light there... conviction of her beliefs. She had never seen someone so totally made of light... light forged in darkness... starlight... but Sister Mary Helena was. It heartened Alice, steadied her breathing... even as the tears continued to fall.

"What choice do I have?"

"The same choice as Ashley. As everyone. Who you want to be, Alice. And what you are prepared to do... to be it. To sacrifice."

"Sacrifice... the Dream Demons... Krueger. They said something like that. They dared me to kill Ash, before they could change him... take him... and I couldn't. I can't. That isn't me."

"Yes. He wanted to use what you love against you. Who you love. Take what is good and beautiful and defile it. That's what he does. Has _always_ done. You know that. You know him better than he knows himself. It is not Ashley's sacrifice or trial I speak of... but your own. One cannot sacrifice another's life in their place. That is no true sacrifice. You know that as well. The Lord gave us free will, child... and how we honor His gift is with the worthiness of our choices. What are you prepared to do with yours?"

Alice stared back at her in silence in the cathedral... looking to her... and beyond her to the alter. To the cross. And she looked to her boy. A towering blue knight in moonlight and candle light shining armor. He looked back at her from within a helmet to rival to blue of his eyes she could still see beyond. And she knew what she had to do. No matter the risk. No matter what it meant. What might be. The Dream Master had to do it... and so did Alice. Every her. Slowly, her teary eyes turned back to the nun... and held her gaze. At last understanding what Amanda was telling her.

"I know what I will do. But I can't find him to do it, Amanda. They're hiding Ash from me. From us. I looked everywhere. You are the only one I have left to turn to."

"So you have turned to me. And I know where they are."

"How?"

"I always know where he is. My son can hide from me no more than your own. No matter the realm. Not even _they_ can hide him from me. The bond of a parent and and their child is unbreakable. To the end, and beyond. That's something neither my son nor _them_ could ever understand. It's why he is afraid of me."

"My mother... she was the Dream Master. Wasn't she? She stood at the Conduit... as I did. She was trying to prepare me... to tell me... but she died before she could."

"Yes. And she is so proud of you, Alice. She is with you now. With you always. Every one that came before you is. Rick, Daniel, Kristen... all of them. They are free because of you... with you in a manner as far beyond your dreams as your dreams are beyond the world. Even if it's not in the way you want them to be."

At that, Amanda turned away from Alice and strode back up to the alter. Moving off just to the side of it. A door of living white light formed from the moonlight touching the cross and alter. It rose in front of it... grew and expanded. And remained there. Beside it, Amanda spoke again, gesturing to it lightly.

"The doorway will lead you to him. Where you can make your choice. I am not permitted to aid you further than that. This path is yours to enter in solitude. But know that it's length needn't be trodden alone."

Alice looked back at her in silence for a time. And she took her words to heart, as she had all of them, and slowly turned from Amanda and the doorway. She looked to her brave, strong, big little knight. She made her way over to where he stood watch, and looked up at him... taking his powerful gauntlet into her wrapped hand again. Bare fingers stroking against the cool steel.

"Jacob... do you remember what Sir Ash told you?", Alice asked him quietly, softly, looking back at his featureless helmet, but still seeing his face. "You're the knight of the house while he is away doing battle. Grandpa and Aunt Yvonne need you to wake up now. To protect them."

"Yes mommy. I understand."

"Jacob. I will love you forever. Love you for always. No matter what happens, you'll always be my baby. My brave little boy."

"I love you too mommy."

His powerful, metal encased arms wrapped around her gently, and he held her to him. She held him right back, pressing against the suit of armor, hand stroking along the soft material of the blue cloak. Closing her eyes. As they held each other, Jacob changed again... the suit of armor vanishing with his height. Returning to the little boy she had already seen when she looked at the knight. She knelt down before him and they held one another for a long time, and she kissed his cheeks, and his head. His little hand stroked away the tears running down her cheeks. Looking back into one another's eyes... she sent him away again to safety. Woke him up. Watching him fade away from the touch of her fingertips on his cheek and his on hers. When he was gone, her hand remained in mid air... and it lowered slowly to her side. She rose again, and turned to the silently watching Amanda. To the serene expression on her face within the white veil. Alice made his way over to her, and to the awaiting doorway, standing before both. When she reached them, she slowly bowed her head, before looking back up at her.

"Amanda... thank you. For _everything_."

"Thank only the power of the one who sent me, child. We will meet again. You will meet all of us, again. I promise, Alice."

Alice smiled back at the lady made of light, unable to help herself. She felt a peace she had felt so few times in her life that she remembered them all. No more tears fell. Drawing a low, relaxed breath, she looked to the doorway. Instinctively placing her fingers into the front of Debbie's coat pockets, she withdrew Ash's sunglasses, looking at them in the white light of the doorway. Smiling to herself, she slipped them on. And then she slipped through the door and beyond.

* * *

There was no rush or experience of vertigo or eternity... not like flight or slipping from dream to dream or nightmare to nightmare. The effect was instantaneous and peaceful, her boots pressing on hard wooden floorboards... and the door of light closed behind her at once. She stood in the middle of the cabin from Ash's memories... his nightmares... every detail exact...but she wasn't fooled by the sight of it. She knew it was an illusion. The world that it was caged within. It was too warm to be anything but. An overbearing heat she knew too well. And it wasn't to the surroundings of the false cabin she looked, but ahead... to the figure... figures over by the closed cellar door. Krueger had conjoined himself with Ash... as he had done with her before. They looked like monstrous Siamese twins, burnt flesh and normal flesh fused together, along with a blue denim shirt and striped sweater. They were joined at the waist and the head... as Krueger poured the worst of nightmares directly into Ash's mind... exploited his own memories and nightmares... his gloved, bladed hand at Ash's mouth, clamping down over it so he couldn't scream at what he saw.

The Dream Demons were burrowed back inside of Krueger, hidden away once more, but she saw them now as they had been before. Their shadows ever present, ever dangling overhead and pulling the strings of their favorite puppet. The malignant shining lights of their eyes, the personification of festering corruption. They could never hide from her again. Tears streamed from Ash's eyes as he fought a losing struggle, but fought it all the same. Tormenting him steadily to submission, in this world and the real world. Both of them were silent... but she knew they were communicating in a far worse way, every bit of Krueger and the Dream Demons focus settled on the one they sought to corrupt. To bend to their will... and unleash upon the real world. Alice forced herself to ignore the revulsion she felt... the temptation to draw the nunchaku... or to shoot the Krueger half with Sheila's sonic device. To do what he deserved. Knowing that doing so would be the end. Instead she remained where the doorway had deposited her, watching them. Until a voice so calm she didn't think it was her own spoke to him.

"Hi Freddy."

Both of them snapped around to look at her in an instant, shock and disbelief written all over Krueger's burnt face. Finding her standing in the middle of the cabin, calmly studying him. Ash's teary eyes bulged wider at her, there was horrified recognition... but still he was prevented from speaking. From struggling. Forced to watch it all in his state, fused and mutated together with a monster. It was him she focused on, kept burning bright in her mind's eye... even as she looked at Krueger's pathetic, torturous form. His pulsating veins and flesh. A terrible anger burned in his snarling, gnashing face, rage... and just enough fear shining in his red eyes to hearten her. To tell her what she was doing was the right thing.

"_How did you... it can't be. Impossible. They were hiding us from you. You cannot be here. You are not more powerful than them. It was that whore... wasn't it? Somehow..."_

"It doesn't matter how. I'm here now. And I want to talk. Just you and me."

"_You'll have to wait your turn, bitch. Plenty of me to go around. We'll get to you and the rest soon enough. We're not quite done with lover boy here, just yet."_

"Yes. You are. Take me instead of him. It's me you want, right now. You've wanted me for years. Thinking about nothing _but_ me. You know it's true. The one who got away. Twice. He's nothing to you. Nobody. And yes, while he is someone to me, another person you'll be happy to take from me... he isn't me. You're just playing the old game again. The wrong game. No more hostages. Take me."

There was an immediate and terrible hunger in Krueger at that. Temptation, lust visibly taking root. Hunger for her that had always been there. Frustration that he couldn't take her, having been using her both times before to access others instead. Now here she was, standing before him, not brandishing her weapons at him. Calmly resigned to her fate. And he didn't need her alive any longer to get to the other dreamers. But still there was that flicker of uncertainty. No matter how powerful he got, it was always there, hidden away... now it was visible. The fear of the bully, waiting for the day his crimes against others would backfire on him. Eager to hurt again, afraid to live with the consequences.

Hesitation.

"_I'll have you both."_

"Then take me first. And I won't fight back this time. I know you like when they do... but we both know there's an end of the road, eventually. We've finally reached ours tonight, Freddy. It's me you want. Me more than anyone else you've ever had or wanted. Not Nancy, Lisa or Kristen. The Dream Master, all to yourself. Think of what you could do with that. With me."

As she spoke slowly, taking her time, he began to salivate... the drool trickling from his husk-like lips... unable to contain it. Hatred and lust, for her soul and other things. He was struggling with it, face pulsating. After a moment that felt an eternity... the maddening hunger won out. The rippling and twitching in his form worsening. The malicious hunger of four monsters in the body of one. She could imagine the thoughts that passed between them, in a head like that. Better they be aimed at her, instead of Ash as they had been. His maw of razor teeth gnashed together, and he began to painfully separate from Ash, all at once, their conjoined form becoming two apart, tearing loose with a rough pull. Returning each of them to their original states. During the process, Krueger's head slipping from his, and hand slipping off his mouth, Ash's panicked voice shouted through the cabin to her. Those wide brown eyes she loved were fearing for her, in a way even Krueger's torture hadn't been accomplishing.

"Alice... no! Don't do it! Get the hell out of here! Wake up!"

"_That's enough out of you. Get back down there, lover boy. I'll have you for dessert. You'll be with your Alice soon."_

With a flick of his glove, the cellar door flew open. Roughly, Krueger grabbed Ash by the throat and threw him down the metal steps of the boiler room below. The moment he vanished out of Alice's sight, the door slammed, chained and locked again. And slowly Krueger turned back to face her... appraising her, stepping away from the cellar door again. His leer was there... but a weariness as well. Caution... fear. Fear that visibly disgusted him. That he was trying to keep away. Uncertainty. And the uncertainty made him angrier... that there might be something he had missed. Wasn't thinking about. In the end... cruelty and desire won out. As it always did. As it always would. They stood like that for quite some time, watching the other, and waiting. Until finally he raised the glove and beckoned to her with it's rusty finger blades, clacking them together.

"_Come to daddy then, Alice. One last time."_

Alice stared at that grinning face... and remembered the first time she had seen it. That leer for her. The night he had burned Kristen alive. The night Kristen had given her her gifts. Her curse. Somehow, she knew it had all been coming back to this. She thought of Jacob... of her father and Yvonne. And she thought of Ash. Everyone she had left. And she thought of Amanda. The rest was easier than she had thought it would be. She crossed the cabin's floorboards and joined Krueger near the cellar door. Each step she drew closer exciting him... but that fear never quite left him. Anticipation. That it was all too good to be true. Standing before him, sunglasses lowered, she looked back into those red eyes and didn't blink. Not even when his glove flashed towards her face. The blades paused, an inch from her flesh... and his hand settled on her face... running through her hair tenderly, looking her over. His foul breath nearly enough to make her choke, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"_You should have kept on your nightie. Like the first time. But this hodgepodge of sad memories you wear are delicious in their own way. I brought them into being. Not quite as fresh meat as you were... but I missed you anyways. Distance and time makes the heart grow fonder."_

"You don't have one. Or a soul. There's nothing to you, just what you've stolen. It's not even yours. I've never seen anything more empty in my life. Enough of this. Do it. Kill me. Like you killed everyone else."

"_And skip the foreplay? So many options... things I could do. Want to do. Should I do it the way I did to Danny Boy, Debbie and Greta? Takes a bit longer, but more creative... and oh what a finish. How about Rick, Kincaid and Georgie? A bit old fashioned... but nice and intimate. I am a romantic."_

"I don't care how you do it, Freddy. Just that you do. I'm not afraid of you, or your Dream Demons. Your masters. You're a slave... to your whims, and to theirs. And I'm not playing along any longer. Get it over with."

Her voice was dead and toneless. Maybe that angered him most of all. Nothing in it to take. He wanted something, at the end... either on his own, or his Dream Demons. Something that made it all worthwhile. Something more. He always needed more, but it was never more true than with her. The apple of his eye. At the moment he believed himself satisfied, it would pass between his fingers. What a cruel fate that should be, to exist as a walking bottomless void of want... of need. She almost felt pity for him. But the screams of the children inside him returned... with the screams of so many she had loved and known... and she felt absolutely nothing for him. Where he was concerned... she was as empty as him. So she stared back at him, and she waited for it to happen. His mouth moved closer to hers, no more than an inch from it... his rotting breath pouring off him... his jagged maw opening. Twitching and pulsating with silent rage. He forced out a low, guttural laugh in spite of it. Murmuring to her slowly and intimately, feverish.

"_You'll scream before the end, Alice... you will scream. And beg. Like all of them do... like all of them will. And when it ends, cunt, you will scream some more. When you see what I've got planned for your crying little bastard-_

A whip cracked like a gunshot ringing through the cabin. A leather strap instantly seized Krueger around the throat, knotting in place, snaring him and making him gag painfully, cutting off his words. A hard yank pulled his head back away from her and made his hat fall down on the floor. A loud whistle echoed behind him... and both Krueger and Alice looked around wildly to it's source. Standing there... gripping the belt tighter with an exposed muscled arm, sleeve torn off, and staring right back unflinchingly. Face carved from granite. Krueger's maw opened slowly, disbelief shining through in his red eyes again. Horror. Alice felt what she had down in that cavern with him, again. Standing in the light of the souls.

Ashley Joanna Williams had fallen down into that cellar. Fallen God knew how far down the Nightmare Master's twisted world of rust, metal and fire. The Dream Hero had climbed back out again, the chains and locks of the cellar door lying broken at his feet. Gauntlet risen in a metal fist and aimed at Krueger.

"Queen protects King."

"_What the f-_

The metal glove in the gauntlet exploded outwardly, the springs within activating and firing. It flew straight and true. It slammed into Krueger's face with a sickening crunch of broken bone, blood spraying from his destroyed mouth and nose. Spitting up jagged teeth all over the floor. The grip of the belt kept Krueger in place, as blood poured all down his front.

The fist landed on the floor close to Alice. With another tug of his left hand, Ash heaved the demon off his feet and swung him through the air with a grunt, slamming him down towards the open cellar door. Simultaneously undoing the knot on the belt with another flick and releasing him. Krueger didn't know what hit him, it happened so fast he couldn't react to any of it. Gurgling up blood and pus and saliva, the burnt monster landed with a pained groan on the first metal step. Ash drew his boot back and kicked him in the ass down the rest of the way, and he fell down the others, slamming into them, vanishing beyond the cellar door Ash had come from. Ash leaned over it, put his only remaining hand to his ear to listen to the sounds the demon made, the sound of him hitting each step, before calling down after him with a shout.

"Hey! Asshole! Forgot your hat!"

Sure enough, Ash seized the dirty, bloody thing up off the floor and dropped it down into the cellar after him. Kicking shut the cellar door again and keeping his boot pressed on it, breathing deeply. Soaked in sweat and blood stains. Slowly, very slowly the man looked back at her... devoid of any fear or weakness. A man who believed totally in himself. Knew who he was. The man who had walked into her diner and looked her straight in the eye. Alice's heart was hammering in her chest, and she felt a warmth that defied the heat of the boiler room encompassing the cabin. A protective aura, radiating from him. She felt herself beaming at him, fingers reaching up to remove the sunglasses, lowering them to her side. He stared at her for a long moment, before his gaze lowered to her feet, nodding in that direction. Raising his gauntlet encased stump.

"Hey doll. Could you give a fella a hand?"

Alice followed his gaze to the floor, where the metal appendage lie... and her smile deepened. Reaching down, she picked it up, looking it over, and made her way over to him, holding it out in offering. Taking it from her gently, he popped it back into the gauntlet and reconnected it, flexing the fingers with an audible whirring. Satisfied with the result. Nearly as much as she was.

"Welcome back, Dream Hero. I knew it was you."

"Good to be here, Dream Master.", Ash returned after securing the hand, looking back into her eyes. And promptly over her form, realizing what she was wearing. A familiar smirk touching his handsome, bloodied features. "And _hello_... what have we here? A leather clad karate babe in tight jeans? Been reading my _Penthouse_ fantasies? What else did you dig out of my head while you were there?"

"You said something about wanting to see me like this. Been awhile since I wore it. I figured why not?"

"I like how you figure. _And_ your figure. You stole my sunglasses."

"You weren't using them at the time. They look better on me."

"Other than hiding those eyes, I'd agree."

"What did you mean by 'Queen protects King'?"

"That chess term you used back at the diner. The King and Queen protect each other.", Ash reminded her with his trace of a smirk growing. "It's true metaphorically... but Queen protects King. King protects realm. 1975 Chess Champion back in Elk Grove High. Don't you ever tell anyone I told you that. I heard enough grief from Scotty and my old man to last a lifetime."

"You're my Queen, then? And Chess Champion? Queen Ashley the Dream Hero?"

"Shhh, pretty lady. I might be your Dream Hero here, but I'm the King in my world."

"I believe you."

"I'm used to being called a dreamy lover... maybe Dream Lover would be better... but I can live with Hero."

Alice looked up at him and they fell silent, simply watching the other. Even in the nightmare world they stood in, all she really saw was him. The man he had been all along... now fully realized. And then the cabin came to life, refocusing their attentions. The illusions. A wind rolled through the cabin, and it creaked and shifted. Something stirred and moaned outside in the woods, tree branches scraping against the side of the cabin. Lamps and various decorations began to rattle, a stag's head twisted and looked at them with white eyes, blood running from it's mouth. The broken chains on the cellar door mended themselves and locked securely back into place over the door.

The fireplace roared to life, and all around the room windows and doors began to break, shambling figures shattering through them. Alice recognized some of them from his memories. His friends and family at least... made grotesque rasping monsters. They climbed through the windows and out of doors, perhaps a dozen of them entering the cabin around them. Hideous, twitching things, misshapen beyond almost every semblance of humanity. The cabin became a madhouse. One that he was quite used to, bored with, from his expression. Ash looked at them, thoroughly unperturbed, and pulled her away from the cellar door and to the middle of the cabin, raising his metal hand and belt in the other. Alice pressed against his back, watching the other side of the room, watching the Deadites, and she drew Rick's nunchaku and Sheila's sonic device at last in each hand. From behind her she heard Ash's confident voice, heartening her further.

"No rest for the weary. Here they come, Red. Looks like the burnt bastard is a sore loser. Strike a pose."

They weren't real... they didn't trouble him... and she had the feeling even if they were, he would handle them all the same. Ash and her rotated around together on the spot slowly like a dance, back to back, tracking every one of the slowly advancing Deadites. The nightmare creations pointed at the two of them, moaning and gurgling, spitting up blood and bile all over themselves and the creaking floorboards. Snarling in a way worthy of their creator. She slipped the sunglasses back on, and smiled grimly.

"_**Join us... Join us... join us!"**_

"You heard them, Alice. Let's entertain our guests."

Alice aimed her sonic device at the one that had been Shelly and the blue laser beam burned a hole through her heart... if it was still there. She screamed and writhed as the sonic wave passed through the cabin, blowing her backwards against a wall. At the same time Ash wrapped his belt around another's neck, seized another and threw it out through one of the broken windows, back outside. Alice cracked one in the head with her nunchaku, splitting it's skull, before breaking it's arms, leaving them dangling uselessly at it's sides. Another tried to grapple with her, fastening it's arms about her, but she whipped out of it's grip, pinned it's arm back and gave it a judo throw for it's troubles, watching it bowl through and knock down another pair with it.

"Banzai!"

One after another the Deadites fell before them, as the two of them spun around the room, dealing with them one by one. Ash picked up one of them and threw it backwards into the blazing fireplace, where it screamed and burned on the floor, writhing and agony. Grabbing a kettle of hot water off the stove with his metal hand, he slammed it through the head of another, leaving it's face a smoking, melting ruin. He made improvised combat look like an art form... and she stopped now and again between kills to watch it, impressed. Seizing another still in a pair of coveralls wearing some dog tags with ease, Ash lifted it off it's feet and slammed it up against the mounted stag on the wall. Impaling it on the antlers, blood pouring down the wall and it's feet. It remained 'alive' as it was up there, gargling inhuman noises and squirming, but unable to pull it's self free.

"One way to grab life by the horns, Jake. Wish I'd done that sooner."

Spotting an empty beer bottle nearby, Ash seized it, broke it, and began tearing out the throat of another Deadite with it, cutting through it until it's already dead eyes rolled back. And there was nothing but blood all over it's face and the floor beneath it. Although they were able to incapacitate a number of them, slowing them all down, more and more kept coming to replace them. They were relentless. She blasted several with Sheila's sonic device, but it wasn't powerful enough to do much... apart from knocking one another down and burning small holes in them. Either they were getting stronger or it was getting weaker. Perhaps her imagination was. Steadily being sapped, by the heat of the boiler room world beyond. Buying themselves an eye in the storm of the blood soaked, broken up cabin, Alice stayed close to him, glancing in the direction of the sealed cellar. Seeing Krueger again in her mind's eye, down in his world, away from the illusion of the cabin, but directing it like a puppeteer from the boiler room. The way his masters were him. She looked back up at Ash, speaking hurriedly.

"He's down there, hiding in his boiler room... him and those Dream Demons. He's sending out these Deadites to try to weaken us, wear us down. While he retreats deeper to his Dream Core. I told you he's a fucking coward like that."

"Then let's head down into that cellar and carve ourselves a lich.", Ash declared firmly, pointing at the cellar door and looking back at her. His eyes swiveled to the advancing Deadites, and to the main door of the cabin. "But we're going to need the right tools. Much as I like watching you swinging those nunchucks around."

"Where?"

"Workshed."

Alice felt him seize her by the wrist, and together they ran like the wind past the bodies and Deadites towards the front door. Along the way she slammed a few more of the creatures out of their way, and Ash did the same. Bursting through the front door and out on to the porch, Alice caught sight of the fog filled woods and night sky above and beyond, the illusion expanding. But a cool night air didn't greet him... if anything the heat of the boiler room was far worse in this illusory outside than it was in the cabin. Advancing on them at the front porch was a single of the abominations in a torn, rotting Letterman jacket. Blood pouring from where it's inhuman eyes should have been. Ash looked at it for a second before roughly pushing it aside, where it fell with a groan over a trash can.

"Sorry Scotty. You've seen better days."

Continuing on out the front door, down the porch and on to the small path outside... Alice watched a small wooden building form that hadn't been there before. And she knew Ash was putting it there. Developing his dream powers. His imagination. Even here in Krueger's world, he was able to defy Krueger, as she had. It made her beam with pleasure as he pulled her up closer to it, looking back at her with a wink.

"Step into my office, doll.

"After you, Mr Williams."

While the growing numbers of Deadites snarled and pursued them, exiting the cabin and coming outside, some running, some shambling, Ash steered them to the door of the workshed. Throwing open the door, they slipped inside the darkened room and Ash hurriedly slammed and chained the door behind them. As soon as it was sealed the Deadites reached them, clawing and pounding on the door... but the weak looking wooden door didn't even shake. Little pockets of light streamed from the cabin to the workshed, but most of the room remained pitch black. Through the cracks in the door and workshed she could see the snarling Deadites out there trying desperately to get in. At last, Ash turned from the door to look at her, that unshakable smirk remaining there as the monsters howled directly behind him, calling for them to come out. Screaming obscenities at them, wailing in inhuman voices.

"This is _my_ safe place, you could say. Wasn't very safe in the real world, but I take it those imitation bastards can't get in here?"

"No. But we can't get back out either, without facing them. Krueger's world is surrounding this safe place like a cage."

"Good. That's what I was hoping for. I won't have to hold back so much.", Ash grinned back at her, taking his pants belt and looping it back into place there, tightening and securing it. Stepping past her deeper into the workshed, he reached up, fumbling for something. "We're not locked up in this world with _him_... he's locked up in here with _us_. Let me draw back the curtains a little..."

Grasping a small chain overhead, he pulled it, and the light bulb flickered and came to life, illuminating the interior of the cluttered workshed around them. She heard some mice squeak and scurry out of sight into the shadows. Alice's lips parting unconsciously. Racks, shelves and boxes of metal, equipment and tools of various kinds. A long work bench with drawers below it, and on it's surface a box of nails, hammers, screwdrivers and other tools occupied most of one of the walls, with a radio sitting on the corner of it. A visible vice grip was connected to it as well, one she had seen before. A red chainsaw and twelve gauge cobalt blue steel double barrel shotgun hung on the wall directly in front of the work bench, glinting in the light. There were baseball bats, knives, swords and other assorted swinging weapons, modern and medieval. There was a long metal rack with chains on it, for strapping down something or someone. Ash looked right at home standing among it all, comfortable and familiar, more than she had ever seen him before. Finally, the Dream Hero looked away from it all, expression quite satisfied, and back down to her... her eyes rising to meet his with wonder.

"You and that bastard saw my memories... the good and the bad.", Ash noted with a slight shrug, looking back at her deeply. "But you didn't see the ones that mattered most, about now."

"What of?"

"How fucking great I am."

His flesh hand rose and touched her cheek... and his memories became hers again. A bloated Deadite hag cackled at him, before being promptly beaten down with a flurry of swings and kicks. It mutated into something even worse... neck extending, screeching like a monkey, but with several swipes of a roaring chainsaw all it's limbs flew off, followed by it's head. Which was promptly blown to pieces by the roar of a twelve gauge. In another memory the thing that had been Scotty was trying to strangle him, lifting the young man off the floor. In retaliation, a determined look crossing his sweat streaked face, the young man took his rotting face into his hounds and began to gouge out both the Deadite's eyes with each of his thumbs. Blood pouring down freely from his hands as it screamed in pain and rage, releasing it's grip on Ash's neck. In another flash Ash was down in a pit with water to his knees while above a crowd watched and roared with laughter. There were two walls of spikes on either side, gradually enclosing closer, and an emaciated Deadite woman in rags backflipping towards him. She jumped right at him, and drawing back his chainsaw he swung it towards the thing, decapitating it mid air.

Another flash and a Deadite witch attacked Ash in a castle, screaming and charging at him... Ash was dressed in a white tunic shirt, his stump heavily wrapped up, with the Boomstick in the other. He alternated between kicking and blasting her with it, putting distance between them, before turning around away from her when she charged again. Casually aiming over his shoulder he blew apart the witch's midsection, and she collapsed to the floor behind him while Ash drew a steady breath. In another instant he was kicking back in a chair like it was a throne, while a trio of pretty serving girls fed him mutton and grapes. Then he was working over a hot forge with a bald blacksmith, hammering the gauntlet and creating it, putting springs and joints inside it and fastening it into place on his arm... breaking a metal cup in his hand to the shock of the blacksmith and a beautiful dark haired young woman. Another flash and he was calmly strapping a horribly mutilated Deadite copy of himself to a table and cutting him to pieces in the moonlight with the chainsaw, as it screamed and howled with agony. Another flash and Ash was training a number of villagers, knights and soldiers in the courtyard of a castle, shouting at them. Another flash and Ash was ordering a volley of explosive arrows and catapults to fire from the battlements of the castle, explosions ringing out among the Army of the Dead beyond the wall.

When they breached the gates and poured into the courtyard, Ash and another knight met them with a blast of a steam whistle attached to the Delta... he had retrofitted it into a spinning death machine, a great rotor chopping the army to pieces, all the dead in his path trying to flee. Then he was in the S-Mart, riding on a trolley towards another oncoming Deadite hag levitating through the air. From the trolley his metal gauntlet caught a lever action rifle he had tossed into the air, bringing it down and filling the witch full of lead. Repeatedly bashing her in the head with the butt of it, knocking her into a trampoline and shooting her in mid air until she was dead on the floor.

Ash's hand slipped back from her face, and with it the stream of heroic memories ceased, returning them to the Dream World... to his safe place. She stared back at him, eyes growing steadily wider under the lowered sunglasses. All of it, the things that would be another man's dreams, he had genuinely done in the real world.

"And that was just the highlight reel. You wanted to know my Dream Powers? I'm me. Just as I am in the real world.", Ash informed her wryly, gesturing around the workshed. "Good memories... bad? I like the ones with the Boomstick and chainsaw. It's time to get to work, pretty lady."

Ash made his way over in front of the workbench... and Alice joined him, taking off the sunglasses and moving to his side. Leaning down, Ash wiped his still sleeved right arm across the surface, brushing away the sawdust and some tools he didn't need. Clearing himself some work space. Then he looked to the radio and began to reach over to switch it on. And she spoke up before he could.

"Can I pick the first song?"

"Go ahead, doll. My safe place is yours, as yours was mine."

Looking at Ash, she considered many songs... each as suitable for the occasion as the last. In the end she thought of one and made it happen._ Go West'_s '_Don't Be Afraid Of Your Dreams_' blared to life out of the radio, and she cranked it up at once. The instruments and vocals quickly drowning out the wailing and cursing and hammering of the Deadites outside. Defying Krueger's world, the cage of nightmares that existed around their safe place. Ash looked at the radio with bemusement, and back over to her, slowly shaking his head as he listened to the appropriate words. Unable to repress a slight laugh, but there was no mockery to it or his voice as his eyes met hers again.

"80's girl to the end of the road, huh?"

"Show me what you can do, 70's boy."

Alice grinned back at him... and with a wink and a nod Ash showed her exactly that. He got to work in a flurry of movements, gathering all the tools and items he needed. Scrap metal. Reconfiguring them in front of her. Bringing down the chainsaw and double barrel as well, setting them on the work bench and continuing. Time seemed to suspend it's self, in in the middle of a dream wrapped in a nightmare. This was their world, nobody else's, nothing but the music and pounding of steel to accompany them. Ash moved like an expert, everything precise and perfect, practiced. He looked like a man born to work at a forge, the exposed parts of his muscled form glistening with sweat.

He created and affixed the connection device she had seen on his real world chainsaw to the dream one. Gathered a bunch of leather straps and buckles off the wall and and fit and secured them around himself, securing a long empty leather holster on his back as well. She helped here and there where she could... she knew he didn't need it, but she wanted to... wanted to support him and be part of what he did. He took her help gratefully, as she tightened and secured all the straps on him. Nodding, looking at her headband for an instant, he went over and took a sheathed sword off the wall and moved over behind her, affixing it to another strap and draping it across the back of Debbie's coat, securing it to her belt.

Then he took Rick's nunchaku carefully and affixed perfectly fitted steel handles over top of the wood of each baton, hammering it into place. Next he asked for her sonic device which she readily handed over... examining it with an expert's eyes, he removed the battery and looked around in one of the drawers. Retrieving a fresh one, slamming it into place, and taking the time with his tools to careful attune the device, under her... or perhaps Sheila's, watchful eye of course. Augmenting it's power output level. When he was satisfied with his work, he handed it back off to her and rose again, looking between the modified chainsaw and his gauntlet. He glanced over to Alice wryly.

"Here, Red. Let me lend you a hand."

Reaching down he unclipped the metal fist again, disconnecting it from the rest of the steel gauntlet. He held it out for her to take, and she did at once, looking it over a moment. And then... feeling a sudden slyness that had to be Debbie's, she unclenched it's fingers from it's fist position, spreading each of the digits out. Turning around before him, she put the hand down the back pocket of her jeans, reached down and curled the metal fingers enough to grip her there. Turning back around she caught Ash's amusement and intrigue. Picking up the chainsaw with his other hand, he inserted his gauntlet encased stump into the base of it, and with a series of clicks and snaps, locked it into place. Wielding his sword at last. Becoming all the more the knight from Jacob's drawing. Only one thing was missing still.

Looking back up to her, her smile deepened and she nodding approvingly. With a tug of the cord attached to his leather harness of straps, the chainsaw motor roared to life, smoke spilling out of it, with a steady rumble. Reaching over for the blue steel double barrel, he rose it up slightly, revved up the saw and brought it down on the end of the barrels. It struck the metal loudly with a series of sparks flying all around them. Weakening them with the chainsaw, he rose his elbow and slammed it down against the barrels, breaking them off with a clatter to the floor of the workshed. She watched in awe as he calmly spun the sawed of shotgun on one finger and slipped it into the holster of his back without taking his eyes off her. The Dream Hero stood before her in all his glory, ready for anything the nightmare world threw at him, handsome rugged face glistening with sweat, brow raising her way.

"Groovy."

"Fuckin' A."

It slipped out of her mouth instinctively, and she smirked back at him, sharing in every ounce of his confidence. At last, Ash flipped off the radio, and the sounds of his chosen song, _Caught in a Dream_ fell silent. In place of Alice Cooper's voice, the moans of the Deadites outside, their pounding on the door returned. Reminding them of where they were, their duty. Ash made for the door and she went to his side before it... but he didn't open it right away. She looked over at him, taking the time to admire his body... his look... his weapons. Every bit the knight Jacob had seen him as and much more. A mechanical engineering genius as well, an inventor... with all the imagination he needed. Strong, brave, bold. The Dream Hero. _Her_ Dream Hero. With her in the middle of this hellish nightmare. She was no longer alone... never would be again. Not if she could help it.

"So what's the plan, Dream Hero?"

"Cut our way through those Deadites, storm the boiler room, grab the burnt bastard together wherever he's hiding. We drag him and his worm buddies back down to the cavern, you lock it up on them. Open the Coma Pit and I throw the fuckers in."

"Just like that?"

"More or less. Then I get you safely back home on time to Jacob, before your old man and Yvonne dismember me."

Alice's head snapped over his way at his words... while he resolutely stared at the door... and she felt a sudden swell of emotions. Overcome by the impulse, she acted on it without hesitation or regret. Grasping him by the the front of the leather straps across his chest, she pulled him down against her and she kissed him, deeply and passionately. Pouring through a heat that defied the boiler room world, wrapping her other arm around his neck. The warmth of life... and of love. All the things that made it worth living. Things she never thought she would feel again. She showed him what she felt for him without needing words. That whatever happened, this moment, the two of them, was true. Was all theirs. He was startled only for an instant... but responded quickly in turn, returning her warmth and passion. His left arm wrapped around her lower back, keeping her pressed against him, while the chainsaw lightly rumbled down at their side... she could feel the vibrations of it in their embrace. They took their time together... the nightmare world outside was another realm away. When their lips slowly retracted, she rested her forehead against his, eyes closing as they murmured intimately to one another.

"Was that Debbie and Rick, or you?"

"All Alice, handsome..."

"Mmm... for luck?"

"Luck... and it's the third date... remember?"

"Better save me some of that sugar for when I get you home... up to the front steps..."

"Oh... I will... no shortage where that came from..."

They stayed in one another embrace for quite some time. Or what felt like it... one could never be sure in the Dream World. She was sure she could stand that way forever, even in the middle of a nightmare, until they both woke. There was no nightmare, with him. No fear. She could lean on him. The dingy, cluttered interior meant nothing, nor the wailing chorus of conjured nightmare demons outside. Their vile words. She felt a comfort that she hadn't in years... and had believed she never would again. A solid foundation forming again. When their faces slowly drew back, his bare hand traced her lips, and stroked through her hair soothingly. And looking into his eyes, she was prepared for the worst. He nodded in the direction of the chained door with that sly smirk forming on his strong jaw again.

"Sounds like we got some real unhappy shoppers out there. Let's roll out the red carpet. Slash some prices."

"Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart."

Returning his pleased smirk, she slipped his sunglasses back on slowly, And then she withdrew Rick's steel fortified nunchaku... and Sheila's enhanced sonic device. Ash moved closer to the door, hand rising to the chain and looking back at her for the go ahead. They both shared a look of understanding and a nod. In one rapid, fluid movement, Ash slid back the chain and locks, threw open the door and drew his Boomstick, sticking it up the rotting nose of the creature that had been hammering on the other side. She caught a grim nod of recognition Ash gave to the creature that had been his best friend, and he squeezed the trigger. In an instant a deafening boom crashed through the interior of the workshed and out into the night, making her ears ring... and she was blinded, as something wet and pulpy splattered her face and front. Keeping her mouth closed tight as it dripped down her face, her leather sleeve brushed away the red and brain matter on the sunglasses, clearing her vision.

"Cleanup on aisle 6."

"Fuck!"

She felt it running all over her face and through her hair... pieces of skull and brain that she shook out of her hair, focusing ahead on the door. Ignoring the temptation for revulsion. The other Deadites had been at the heels of the first, and although startled by the gunshot they rallied almost at once. A pair tried to lunge for Ash but she blasted them down with the sonic, the powerful blue light of the device shredding and burning their limbs off as she aimed at them. More powerful than it had been before. In an instant Ash, as covered in blood and gore as she was, flew out the door revving up the chainsaw and started swinging. Bisecting one of them in half and taking off the outstretched arm of another while kicking a third.

The chains caught the flesh, muscle and bone and tore it to pieces, another fresh spray of blood raining down on her and Ash. Soaked face set in a grimace, Alice swung the nunchaku, effortlessly dodging the snarling Deadites that tried to seize her... one of them being a thing that had been Linda. Alice danced around her, and did a back flip worthy of Kristen to put some space between them. Once she had she apologetically swung the nunchaku at the Deadite in the stained Michigan State University sweater, clobbering her across the head and knocking her backwards to the ground among some of the other monsters. Ash was making quick work of the others, sawing through and shooting one after another, sometimes two in unison. Aiming back over his shoulder and firing without looking, striking one of them every time, including some that tried to sneak up on her. Alice supported him right back with more blasts from the sonic, focusing on the ones that hadn't gotten up close to him yet.

One by one they fell... and gradually stopped rising or coming back... nor was there any signs of reinforcements arriving yet from the surrounding illusion of the woods or the cabin. The Linda form was the last of them to remain standing... and screaming and cursing it dived towards Ash. For what surely wasn't the first time, he beheaded the Linda Deadite with a wide swing of the chainsaw as she flew through the air towards him. The blood spewing head landed near Alice, and when it did it no longer looked as it had before. A young, familiar, beautiful human woman with brown hair looked back up at her and promptly blinked, normal eyes flickering between her and Ash. Tears starting to stream down them as she sobbed and wept.

"Ashley... how could you? Cutting me to pieces... and replacing me... with this slut whore bimbo Alice? I loved you! I thought we were going to be together!"

"You demon types all follow the same guidebook to being assholes, don't you? That shit doesn't work on me anymore. Old hat, if _you_ don't mind the expression."

The sobbing head stopped all at once, and it shifted back into it's white eyed Deadite counterpart. And a terrible sneer she recognized twisted on it's expression. Glaring daggers back up between the two blood soaked figures.

"_**COME DOWN AND GET ME DREAM COCKSUCKER! YOU TOO DREAM SLUT! WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU! WE WILL PUT YOUR FACES TO THE GRINDSTONE! WE SHALL BOIL YOUR EYES! TEAR YOUR MINDS! SWALLOW YOUR SOULS!"**_

It was Linda's Deadite head... but Krueger's hideously enraged voice and words. Exchanging a knowing glance with Alice, Ash drew back his boot and nonchalantly kicked Linda's demonic, obscenity spewing head down the forest path. It vanished out of sight into the fog... and once it did, Alice looked back at her knight in glistening blood... so much of it the blue was gone from his tattered denim shirt.

"They're afraid. Krueger and his masters. Getting desperate. They know they fucked up."

"Of course they are, doll. A dangerously sexy, badass, heavily armed dreamer... and his girlfriend, are coming for them. They should be."

Somehow, Alice chuckled a bit in spite of the rising insanity of it all. Or more likely because of it. He had a knack at making her laugh. If they didn't laugh, surely they would go mad. If they weren't already there. With another grimace, she wiped away at some of the stickiness on her face against the coat. It was in vain, she knew. He laughed as well, and gestured with his free hand to all the wriggling body parts around them, along with the gore and blood all around the forest floor.

"Look on the bright side, Red. We're in a dream. I wasn't every time I got splattered like this."

"You really are going to need me to clean up after you."

Alice observed with a fond exasperation. Focusing carefully on herself and on him, she pictured the two of them cleaned of blood in her mind's eye, and made it so. She felt the stickiness recede in an instant, and watched it do exactly that off of Ash, his red shirt turning blue again. She kept the sweat on him though... that looked good.

"There now. You're lucky you have a Dream Master in your life."

"No arguments here. And much appreciated. Right this way, pretty lady."

He beckoned to her with his chainsaw and turned, starting up towards the cabin again. Following him up, nunchaku and sonic device at the ready again, she joined him up on the front porch, glancing at the swing seat in it's corner, rocking in the breeze. The two of them headed back inside, to the blood soaked disaster of a cabin... where a number of bodies from before still lie. Including the one Ash had mounted to the set of antlers. Still it bled and moaned, incapable of removing it's self, and Ash laughed at it.

"Nice rack, Jake."

They started for the chained cellar door, Ash ahead of her while she stood back a ways. In a flash he cleared his Boomstick from it's holster, aimed at her and fired twice. As the roars tore through the interior of the cabin... so did the pulpy sounds behind her. Whirling around two headless Deadites stood behind her, trying to reach out for her... and promptly collapsed backwards. Bleeding out... blood and all manner of bodily fluids spilling forth. She looked back to her Dream Hero just in time to see him blow the smoke away from the barrels, spin the Boomstick on one finger and tuck it back in it's holster. Flashing her that reassuring, cocky smirk again.

"Baby's got a hair trigger."

"At least here in the Dream World you don't have to worry about reloading your Boomstick. Must be a nice change of pace."

"Reload? Uh... _right_."

The Dream Hero looked away evasively down to the cellar door, examining the chains. Running his hand through his dark slick hair. She joined him over by it, looking it over as well, pursing her lips.

"Bastard locked it tight behind him. Nothing I can't fix." Ash grinned, raising the chainsaw and revving it up again. "Only wood I'll be sawing tonight. This morning, whichever. Then again I already am in your bed right now."

Aiming the spinning blade down into the wood of the cellar door, Ash dug it in and began to saw a steady line down the middle. Sawdust spat up all around them as he easily steered the blade, chopping from top to bottom, and making a single line right through it. Cutting through wood and chains alike like they were made of butter, sparks flying. All through the process Alice kept her eyes around the cabin, watching his back, metal nunchaku spinning down at her side, sonic device risen. Nothing stirred... but the heat of Krueger's world was worsening. The facade of the wooden cabin was slipping away... the image dimmed and flickered now and again, and she saw the rust and metal works that were hiding beneath it.

When Ash finished sawing the door, he aimed a single powerful stomp on top of the door and it split from side to side, wood falling down out of sight, revealing the metal staircase below. The two of them examined it, before looking back at one another. No words were needed. This was it. With a nod, Ash took the lead, stepping down, gradually lowering himself, drawing the Boomstick and aiming it and the chainsaw ahead of himself. Alice followed him down closely, tucking away the nunchaku into Debbie's belt. The quarters were too cramped for it. Instead one hand grasped the back of Ash's harness reassuringly, and she alternated between watching their back and glancing ahead down the seemingly bottomless stairwell... as they made their final descent into the awaiting hell below.

Within moments, they left the illusion of the cabin behind, and ventured down to the true festering heart of Krueger's world. Fire and shadows. Above and behind them, the light from the cabin vanished, leaving them suspended in darkness with only their breaths and touches to guide them... and instinct. The only sounds at first were their breathing and the steady rumble of the chainsaw's engine... both reassuring as the other. The more they ventured down into the darkness together... the more it all came back. The scent of rust... and rot. The sweltering heat of the fires intensifying. Rusty, dangling lights flashed on overhead and along walls. The sounds of hissing steam pipes jutting overhead and below. The clanking of metal and dangling chains. All the sounds of a factory, plant and boiler room.

They were back where they belonged.

* * *

The cabin may as well have been the house at 1428 Elm Street again, somewhere above them. That illusion change had only been for Ash, to torment him... but he had conquered that hurtle and came out the other side as the Dream Hero. She could feel Krueger's fear at that unexpected turn of events... it was getting worse... no matter how powerful this nightmare world seemed now. How alive. His Dream Core lie somewhere ahead... and as much as she had not looked forward to the prospect of seeing it again... she knew she could do so with her Dream Hero at her side. Somewhere in the distance, music came up to greet them... instruments and voices... old time music. They paused for a moment, glancing at one another with incredulity, but continued on down towards it, glimpsing the bottom of the stairwell, the walkway it was connected to. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they stepped on to the walkway, and in so doing had more space to maneuver. Alice drew the steel nunchaku again, instinctively spinning it at the ready as her eyes narrowed with concentration on the boiler room that had awaited them.

Steam pipes overhead dripped water on the floor below... and she remembered it all like it had been the first time. She took the lead, nodding for Ash to follow her to Krueger's own workbench area... and she caught sight of it in the distance. The furnace with the chains dangling around it. The damp metal floor. The pipes. The workbench. Everything... all of it in the steel corridor was as it had been before. The first time she had walked barefooted and soaked through it in her night dress, a frightened little girl. She froze at exactly the same spot she had first appeared here, on a grating from which an ominous green light below shone up. Her pulse had quickened, as each of the flashes of images came back to her. Memory. Kristen's face sloughing off her skull inside the furnace. Krueger's beckoning claw and cooing, disturbing voice. She felt Ash draw close, tucking away his shotgun and setting that hand on her shoulder, grasping it firmly but gently. She heard his low voice murmur in her ear... felt his protective presence again, in this dark place of her worst memories.

"What is it, Alice? Are you ok?"

"The first time I was here... he threw Kristen into that furnace. She brought me here to try to save her. I couldn't. I didn't know how. I was so scared. I watched her burning... melting. He took her soul into his chest... but something else escaped it and slammed into me. I started my journey here, Ashley. Where so many others' ended."

"He handed you a weapon that night he didn't realize the potential danger of, right?"

"Yes."

"And you beat him with that weapon the first time, right?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't learn from his mistakes. We do. He just handed you another. Me. "

His hand squeezed her shoulder again reassuringly... and she pressed her cheek down against it. grateful, her quickened pulse steadily relaxing. His touch, voice, and the reassuring rumble of the chainsaw brought her back from the troubling images. Reminded her of what she had to do, what needed to be done. Never again. What had happened to her and Kristen would not happen to two more children. Breathing deeply, she reluctantly withdrew from his touch, and continued leading them down the corridor. She felt his chainsaw and shotgun sweeping the corridor, behind and around them, tracking for anything. And she was not afraid this time... this journey.

Alice neared the furnace, pushing aside the chains with the steel nunchaku batons... looking at it. It was sealed... but there was a small window in it, where she could see the skulls of countless children and teenagers burning. Could hear their muffled screams within the embers and flames... in the pipes and walls. Felt them and their pain, fear and sorrow. Rage threatened to take her... but with his presence it stayed cool. Purposeful. Her grip tightening on the baton. She looked past the furnace to Krueger's work bench... lined with rusty, bloodied tools and utensils... and something she hadn't seen before. A slowly turning gramophone, from which the music echoed... old... she couldn't recognize it. A chorus of slow voices, singing sadly of dreams.

"I didn't know he listened to music. Some vestige from life?"

"_The Pied Pipers_. I bet he listened to them while he did it. Sick fuck. Stand back, Red."

She heard the Boomstick cock, and stepped out of his path as he aimed it. The gramophone exploded all over the table and floor. The deafening boom rang out through the boiler room, through the nightmare world. Slowly it faded away, leaving only the noises of the boiler room nightmare world and a smoking barrel... that Ash slowly lowered back down to his side.

"There. Hope that gets his attention."

Ash went over to look around the work area a bit... examining the furnace a little bit away from Alice. And while he did, she was about to turn away, when she heard the slightest scraping. Not enough for Ash to pick up on over the rumble of chainsaw and furnace. It came from the table... something resting on it... something that began to move, and turn. A glove... another like his. The razor fingers pointed threateningly at Ash's back... and Alice's heart slammed in her chest. She flew across the work area a split second before the glove did... it launched through the air towards Ashley... and at the last possible moment she swung the nunchaku, bringing the steel down on the back of it. Slamming the glove to the floor where it stirred as though stunned, and tried to launch again.

Ash spun around at the commotion, and as he did it flew towards his stomach... too fast for him to bring up his chainsaw and shotgun. Not too fast for her sonic device. She shot it with the powerful, pulsating blue light... and it screamed and growled as the glove burned away to nothing, disintegrating before their eyes. When it was gone, she slowly lowered Yvonne's ingenious invention, and Ash breathed with relief, sweat soaked shirt rising and falling. Alice looked his way and winked slightly.

"Looks like we got his attention. You really gave this thing a hell of a kick in power."

"And you used it well. First time I've ever caught a break with an evil hand. Thank you, Alice."

"You watch my back, I watch yours.", Alice returned with an assured murmur. And peering past him to the furnace... an idea that came naturally, looking at it, occurred to her. "I'm not done here, quite yet. Get away from the furnace."

Ash obeyed at once, backed away from the furnace and joined her at the center of the room... the two of them staying close and looking about it. Staring at the furnace... seeing only it... Kristen's melting face, she rose Sheila's sonic device and pointed it at the incinerator... and promptly returned the favor. Squeezing the trigger, the blue beam shot out at the metal monstrosity, and she increased the spread, running it's current all over the chains in front of the machine, severing them. Once she had she ran the laser back and forth, taking her time... the clashing blue light and red of the furnace burning in her and Ash's gazes, features hard. She felt her heartbeat quickening as she watched the metal begin to creak and groan... and melt... and felt him at her side, his presence supporting her.

She felt all of them... everyone who had come down to this boiler room... Kristen most of all... her face in her mind's eye. No longer melting, but returning to normal... to the blonde's smiling, laughing face as she was when she had been with Rick... with Alice. The furnace began to melt in on it's self, gradually caving in and plummeting, sinking down against the floor. She kept right on going, watching the fire within gradually starting to burn out... and then she kept going, squeezing harder. Until there was nothing but a pool of glistening metal, fusing down into the floor. Hardening again. Slowly, over the other sounds of the boiler room, she lowered the weapon back to her side... and drew a breath. It did not release their souls... she already had the victims of the past... the ones of the present remained, inside him. All the same... it was a release, for her. A feeling of satisfaction growing through her, as her eyes returned to his watchful pair.

"There. Now we have _more_ than his attention. We take him apart, a piece at a time."

"I like how you think, doll."

"From what I've seen? I bet you do."

Then it came for them... a sound of rage, echoing off in the distance. One that gave her further satisfaction. The scraping again... steel on steel. The spraying of sparks. Up on the walkways... below... and on the same level as them. All around them, far and near. They both knew exactly what it was by now.

"FREDDY! COME OUT! STOP HIDING AND FIGHT US YOURSELF YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

The steel scraping continued, and with it came a snarling in response to her, from down a corridor beyond the work area and furnace. Ash leveled his shotgun at it and her the sonic device. Looking at one another with a nod, they started down it, following it, along with the scraping finger blades. And they heard the tapping of boots... running in that direction. Together, the two of them picked up the pace and bustled down the corridor, ducking past steam pipes and valves, avoiding steam clouds, moving down the metal walkway and corridor. Rounding corridor after corridor, deeper into the nightmare world's heart. The Dream Core. She felt him ahead, running, fleeing them. Fleeing in his own corridors. It gave her all the encouragement she needed to keep going. Turning around a bend, they froze... finding themselves somewhere she knew only too well. The winding corridor of an asylum... lined with steel doors on either side. Mad, muffled laughter greeted them from behind the doors... hands and fists pounding on them and the walls, echoing all around them. Rattling the doors and food tray slots, leering through at them and screaming obscenities and whooping laughter. Ash cast a speculative eye at all the doors ahead of them and behind them, before looking her way for clarification.

"These are the recesses of the Hathaway House... the early 1940's. Before it was shut down, and Westin Hills Asylum was built instead. The criminally insane were kept here... what they did to Amanda... these are Krueger's fathers."

"And I thought my old man was an asshole. Guess it _is_ genetic."

"I used them against him before... the last time I was here... had them tear him apart... but these are his creations now. His nightmares. And he's more powerful than he was then."

All at once, the lights dangling overhead began to flicker, casting their shadows about the walls... and the rattling in each of the doors worsened. She heard the scraping of his steel gloves again, echoing, along with his bitter laughter. Then they heard each of the locks breaking, and watched the doors all slam open against the wall as one. Revealing all the cells with the occupants within. They shambled out into the corridor, laughing, whooping and screaming, speaking gibberish... dressed in stained, ragged patient uniforms. A horde of them, forming where they had come from and where they were going... with them right in the middle. Ash's eyes flickered between both sides of the hallway as the psychopaths slowly began to shamble towards the two of them. Pointing and laughing at them... murder and far worse written in their malicious eyes. To say nothing of what understandable words they spoke.

"How many of these sick bastards were there, again?"

"At least a hundred."

"Well, the Deadites were a good breakfast anyways.", Ash returned, tilting his neck from side to side, popping the muscles. He rose the chainsaw higher, revving it up, smoke pouring off it, while his other rose the Boomstick, glancing back at her with an unperturbed smirk. "Time for lunch. Let's wish them all a happy Father's Day, then. Back to back again, Aikido Alice."

Alice returned his unflappable smirk and tucked away her nunchaku and sonic emitter back into Debbie's belt on instinct... and then reached back and drew her katana, bringing it to bear in a satisfying flash and ring of steel. The lights overhead glinting off it and reflecting about. She took up her position behind him, looking back down her side of the corridor as the lunatics on that end drew closer, giggling madly. The roar of his chainsaw rose in defiance, drowning out even their mad laughter and echoing through the corridor... and she loved him for it. To say nothing of the near deafening boom of his Boomstick as he met the first of his maniacs with a lead greeting. At the same moment her own reached her, trying to grope at her with no attempt at self preservation. She took off one of their hands, a torrent of blood spraying out at the wrist as the maniac screamed and fell backwards at the feet of the others who climbed over him to get at her.

The roar of the chainsaw continued to echo, and she heard him getting busy back there, heard and felt the warm sprays of blood raining down on them all. It should have been more difficult... returning to fight Krueger like this... she had thought it would be. But with the Dream Hero watching her back, it was like the first time again... saving Dan in that operating room... facing Krueger in that church. The nightmare world would stop for her... for the Dream Master... not her for it. The blood of his insane creations was like a baptism at her chest... and she was back again. Mouth tightening, Alice lunged at the closest maniacs, swinging out fast, accurate strikes everywhere she could get at best. She sprayed their blood about, opening up fresh wounds and making them scream in pain instead of madness.

When she had stalled the tide on her side of the hallway, she glanced back to find one trying to grapple with Ash's trusty Boomstick. She ran back to him and slammed the katana through the maniac's throat, while her other hand gripped the leather harness on Ash's back. A flicker of his eyes and his bloodstained grin thanked her, and he returned the favor by swinging the Boomstick back over his shoulder to the maniacs on her side of the corridor. They had untangled themselves and continued marching forward, those that still could. He fired into them and took down several with the impact, blowing one's head off in the process. Together they spun around in circles back to back once more, killing each other's maniacs in a whirlwind of death that made her grin as widely as his own. Sawing and slicing and shooting everything that got too close to them. Throwing in some punches and kicks now and again when needed. She even caught him attempt a judo throw of his own... and didn't do a half bad job of it. He was a bit more about strength than finesse, but that was to be expected of a man his size, with the weapons he carried. They complimented her own style perfectly.

As she turned to look back at her next attacker... she froze where she was at the leer that stared back at her. One she had seen before... along with a face. Him... not burnt, and not really him... but _him_ all the same. She had seen that face in the newspapers... and attacking her on her own bed, five years before.

"Come to daddy."

At that slimy voice... hearing it without the rasp... she reacted on instinct. With a powerful kick of her combat boot, she slammed him in the groin, making him gasp and double over. Then she fed him his teeth with a swing of her wrapped knuckles... and helped him swallow them with a throat strike. Before swinging around with a slash of the katana, taking off his head and catching it in mid air. Spraying the walls and remaining patients behind him with his blood. Holding the katana in one hand, she lunged at the others, finishing them off in a flurry of blows, bisecting limbs and stabbing them through the guts and twisting. Having finished off the last of the maniacs on her side, she looked down to the dripping, severed head she held by the hair. Mouth still twitching, opening and closing... but none of the familiar obscenities in his voice came out this time. She was almost disappointed.

"Nothing clever to say? That was for Amanda, asshole. For everyone you and your bastard hurt."

"Making new friends?"

Alice's eyes rose back to the blood soaked , handsome as ever Ash standing only a few feet behind her, having finished up his side as well. The two of them stood among the dismembered corpses and blood soaking the asylum floors, walls and ceilings. The dangling lights overhead shifting back and forth over the carnage that had unfolded. She knew that if she didn't know it was a dream, she would be vomiting right now. The instinct was already there, but with him, the way he stood so comfortably among it... she couldn't help but draw from his strength. And wished she could take a photograph. Then again... she took one in her mind's eye, committing it to memory. His amused eyes looked down between her and the head, and she clarified for him.

"This one was Krueger's father. Krueger took his form in my nightmare, once. Tried to attack me in my bed when I thought I had woken up."

"I see the family resemblance. And if I have anything to say about it, they'll look even more alike, soon. You hold on to that until we find him. Give them a family reunion."

Alice's bloody face smiled back at the man at that idea, and she rose her katana before herself in a proper salute. With a risen brow, Ash returned the gesture, hefting up his rumbling chainsaw arm. Without needing to look back, she then slid the bloodstained blade back into the sheath on her back. Then with her free hand lowered it down to her belt and unhooked Sheila's sonic device once more, lowering the severed head to her side. While she was doing that, Ash looked around their messy surroundings in the asylum corridor, as though just seeing it for the first time. He uttered a low, impressed whistle at their handiwork, unperturbed gaze returning to hers.

"Nothing like doing your part for mental health awareness. You'll fit into my world just fine, Red. You know you found a keeper when you're executing rapists together."

"Not bad for a yellow belt, Ashley-san. Though you look more like a red belt from where I'm standing."

"You're one to talk?"

Alice followed his pleased eyes and looked down over her bloodstained coat and shirt beneath... staining her exposed collar and tattered jeans. It was a fair enough point. Glancing back at him, she smiled, imagining them both cleaned up in her mind's eye. It worked at once... the blue of his tattered shirt returning... though the same couldn't be done for their boots, given their surroundings. This was his nightmare world... his domain... here she could only clean up the two of them. Then again, the two of them were cleaning it up properly a better way. The way it always should have been.

"Look at me. I'm still cleaning your messes. Try to go at least ten more seconds without spraying us in blood, hmm?"

"No promises. Domo arigato, Miss Johnson. Again."

Ash bowed his head Samurai style, and she returned the gesture respectfully. Before the two of them looked back down the blood and corpse filled asylum corridor. The madness of the dark place lifted, there was only silence once more to the Asylum section. Together, as before, they started down it, Ash taking the lead, her watching his back. Taking the severed head with them, and keeping the sonic device at the ready. They left the asylum section behind, following the swinging lights... the rumble of the chainsaw leading them forward. Around the next corner they were back to the corridors of the boiler room... not that the heat had ever left them in the asylum. The pipes and gratings and chains returned... the hissing steam and dripping water. They were closer now... close to the Dream Core. She could feel it's power, and that of it's creator. He could not flee from them... not anymore, not this time. He must have known it.

As they turned down another corridor, there was an inhuman snarl and bark as something flew out at them through a cloud of steam. Before Alice could raise the sonic device Ash brought the shotgun to bear and blasted it to a pulp. It sprayed all over the wall in a mixture of tissue, fur and blood... but it was not alone. A second and third had been just behind it. Massive beasts in the shapes of a hound... but where it's face was supposed to be was a disfigurement of human flesh. An infant's face stretching around a great maw of jagged teeth... just like his, blood and saliva flowing freely. His own personalized abominations... the flesh of children and animals as warped as he was... the most innocent of things twisted. Things he happily threw away, just to stall for a few more seconds. In another instant, the pair charged at them, as the other had done. As they ran forward, they didn't growl, but squealed like a grotesque mockery of babies. She was quicker than Ash on the draw this time, squeezing the trigger of the sonic device and melting a hole through one of their sides. It shrieked as no infant or animal ever could, slamming into a nearby steam pipe. But it rose again, fight still in it, and it lunged towards her.

This time Ash swung forward the chainsaw, and cut the thing right down the middle of it's head, tearing through the rest of it. Blood spattered up everywhere, hitting steam pipes and making them hiss. The creature was torn clean apart, both halves of wet, pulpy meat landing on both sides of Ash. Splattering against him in fresh stains. It seemed he could never avoid them for long, or had long since stopped caring. His own sort of curse. At the same moment she saw his chainsaw going towards the second beast, she aimed at the third, shooting it in the head and driving it to the ground... gritting her teeth and holding on to the trigger until she had burnt the monstrosity away into nothing but ashes. Releasing the trigger, beside her, the revving bloody chainsaw died back down as well to the low rumble of before, and Ash looked between the two corpses and the pile of ashes lying in the corridor with disgust.

"Bad dogs! Stay down!"

On that note, Ash lowered his chainsaw again... and Alice took the time to vanish the blood stains on him again. Something told her that was going to be a full time job by it's self. Regardless of which world it was in. Finally, his eyes drew back to hers, jaw tightening grimly.

"Well, think I lasted longer than ten seconds. Ever see anything fucked up as these?"

"No. But it doesn't surprise me. Maybe they were older experiments of his. Or he got the idea while he was biding his time. Either way... it tells me enough. And little more than I already knew."

"He _must_ be getting desperate, siccing Cerberus on us. We have him, Alice. We have him."

"We will, Ashley. Come on. Down here. Enough of this stalling. I know where he is... he can't hide from me anymore. From us."

She didn't smile at him, but she felt a satisfaction he must have recognized. After she vanished the blood from her own clothing once more, he nodded silently, and she took the lead again, breaking into a run like before. For so many years now this place had seemed an endless maze. A labyrinth, somewhere in time and space. It was different now. She had a map... and she had the keys. And both had been updated, since her Dream Hero came to her. Krueger must have known... his defenses even here were pathetic. He had gone so long sure of his power, sure that when he had it he had a lair of invincibility, that he had come to believe it. Even after the years of the Dream Police. Maybe he had been so focused on being on the offensive, that he hadn't thought more defenses necessary. Another fortunate mistake. Or maybe the fear was starting to overpower even _his_ sadistic imagination.

Alice and Ash ran down one walkway after another, one corridor after another... and where there was more than one turn, she knew which one go down. Drawing ever closer to the Core, the heat almost overwhelming... but somehow easier to ignore now. Cold purpose and clarity fought back the stifling heat. All the familiar sights returned to Alice... where she, Jacob and Amanda had fought him five years before. Upside down and sideways impossible stairs, a blend of the asylum, the boiler room, a factory or power plant... and parts of the church. It had been a mind bender to her back then, as it had been to Ash the first time he'd come here... but it was different now. Many things were. Finally they came to the walkway suspended over the swirling pit of fire and death far below. A part of the Core that must have been his mockery of the Pit, now that she had a moment to consider it. A particular metal walkway of the many and many stairwells above and below.

From the look in Ash's eyes he knew which one it was. Where they had first met in the Dream World. The Dream Core. Where she had managed to find him in time. She saw him ahead running... his unmistakable figure, blades scraping on the railings as he went, leaving a trail of sparks behind him. Raising the device, aiming just beyond Krueger's retreating form, she fired, neatly bisecting the next platform and the one ahead of it... watching it collapse and fall down into the bottomless pit of molten metal and fire below... cutting off his escape. He froze where Ash had frozen, just before she had called him... though went as still as a statue. Until he turned, very slowly towards the two of them, where they advanced ever closer. Slowly walking up to the halfway point of the walkway, before gradually coming to a stop. Alice drew back the severed head and threw it like a bowling ball down the walkway, watching it roll end over end towards the bastard. Leaving a blood soaked trail and ending up at the madman's feet. Reuniting the two.

"No more running, Freddy.", Alice called down to him evenly, lowering Yvonne's device and clipping it to her belt again. Freeing up her wrapped hands and lowering them to her sides... both fists relaxing there. "Brought a present for you."

Krueger stared at them, those malignant red eyes hating... the maw like that of his discarded pets gnashing. He had healed his face from his encounter with Ash... but the fact it had effected him as it had then, to lose his strength in the exchange, was the real pain. Somehow he hated them now more than he ever had. Like his bottomless appetite, there was always a little more he could hate. Needed to. And their calm, steady resolve only made it worse. He picked up his father's head off the ground and looked it over for a moment with distaste... before casually flicking it off to the side over the edge of the railing, falling and vanishing into the fires below.

_"So you met daddy dearest. He was nearly as disappointing as Mr Underwood."_, The demon thing muttered as much to himself as to her, razor teeth gnashing... looking back down towards them. _"I look forward to meeting yours. It's a shame your whore mother is already dead. You never found out the truth about that, did you? What really-_

"No more tricks, or lies, or trying to talk your way out of this. It's time."

"_Time, Alice? The only time it is is to leave Wonderland. Wake up. We can continue this little game of ours again later. With you and lover boy. I am tired of you both now."_

"Yes... you are tired, aren't you? I can see it. No matter how many of them you eat, you're still decrepit. That old thing the Dream Police beat up. Now all you are is decrepit and bloated. A disease of two worlds."

"_And how they screamed upon my return. They doubted me, didn't fear me at first... but they never forgot me, deep down. How quickly they remembered. I will never be forgotten. I am eternal."_

"No. You aren't. Or you wouldn't be so afraid. Those _things_ inside you wouldn't be so afraid. I know how to destroy all four of you. You as good as told me. Led me to it. You can't help yourself, can you? You thought you were so clever. That you had me and Ash. All of Springwood. That you had everything thought out. You almost did. And it wasn't quite enough. And you're out of chances."

Holding up her hand for Ash to remain where he was... he reluctantly complied, holstering the Boomstick, but keeping the chainsaw up at the ready, and his eye on her. Ready to charge forward and protect her. To be her Dream Hero again. She went just a little ways ahead of him, standing between the Dream Hero and the Nightmare Master. Not taking her eyes off of him.

"No more, Freddy. Anna was the last. It's the end. _This_ time it's for keeps."

"_You said that before... yet here I stand. Full of the fresh souls you failed. There will never be a last for us. We will kill both of you... everyone you love, and spread beyond Springwood. You will be the last of the Dream Masters. When we are through, your station will no longer exist... nor that of your bloody knight. We will remove you from existence and memory, from history. All the worlds will know is nightmares... now and forever... and who owns them."_

"You are a dreamer, Freddy, aren't you? You always were. More than I ever was. Even before them. It was all you had.", Alice merely smiled at him, slowly shaking her head, Rick's headband shifting with her movements. "No... it's time for you to wake up. Really wake... not in your house, or this boiler room... this nightmare world or Dream Core. There was only ever one place you were going to wake. And I'm going to take you there now. One last flight... with a Dream Master, this time. You used me to get what you want. It's only right I do the same."

"_You'll try, cunt.", _He sneered back at her, raising his claws and beckoning her way once more. _"You just try it."_

She didn't look back at Ash, at that dare. She didn't have to... the rumble of the chainsaw told her enough. Their bond. Their trust. As Kristen had done for her, she charged at Krueger... but at the last moment, before he could reach out to seize her, throw her into the fires below, she flipped high into the air. Out of his reach. Flew, as she had through the Dream World, time and space suspending around her. After a number of flips and aerial twists she landed on her feet behind him on the platform with the bloodstained katana drawn in both hands, pointed at demon. Krueger looked at her, claw pointing at her rapidly... but the moment he did the chainsaw roared to life and her blue knight began his advance, slowly but inexorably. That wild grin of his flashing, even as his hardened eyes narrowed on the demon.

In a flash, Krueger grew a second glove on the other hand, no... not a glove like the first, but five long rusty steel blades sprouting from his exposed burnt hand's bleeding fingertips. Keeping one clawed hand pointed at each of them. And then he slashed both railings, and flames flew up along their entire lengths like a trail of gasoline had been poured on them. The heat instantly worsening. As soon as his arms shot to the sides to light up the railings, Ash hurtled forward and slashed the chainsaw at him. Krueger managed to catch it just in time with his glove, and catch her katana with the other hand when she swung it across his back. She pulled back before he could try to seize it from her, and swung it across his leg, landing a blow, shredding his pants there and making him bleed. He growled in pain and rage as his other hand continued to clash with Ash.

Around them the platform began to creak and groan, getting steadily weaker as the fire and the fight continued. Of course that was his plan, to take them down into the fires with him... where they would burn and he would thrive. She aimed blow after blow at his side and back, and he managed to deflect them, but at the cost of less concentration with Ash. Ash took advantage of it with a feint, spinning and cutting him across the side... a glancing blow that Kruger knocked back before he could sink the saw deeper. Sparks and blood flying. Krueger growled and swung out at Ash, putting him on the defensive. Getting in close while he was distracted, she jumped up and kicked him in the back with the sharp yell Rick had taught her. The blow pitched him closer towards Ash, knocking Krueger off balance to buy Ash some more time and giving her more room. When he turned back to Alice growling and spitting in his rage, he aimed the claws at her face and swung. At that moment Ash grabbed the arm by the wrist, the blades inches from her face, and he broke the arm in several places.

Krueger howled in pain and fury, and she slammed her wrapped fist into his face, breaking a number of jutting teeth and knocking his head back, and his hat over the side of the railing. For good measure she struck him in the throat with an open handed strike, and then jammed the katana through his open mouth and out the back of his head, while Ash broke the other arm in several places, jutting, bleeding bone tearing through each of them. And then the burnt lunatic started laughing, the laughter echoing once more out through the boiler room, through his world... through the Dream Core. Another laugh joined Krueger's, as Ash stopped holding back. Together they roared with laughter... and soon Alice couldn't help herself either, a splitting laugh escaping her lungs as well. A cathartic release, heartened by Ash's own mad laughter. She didn't even know what was funny... but it was. She laughed so hard that tears blinked in her eyes and streamed from her face with the sweat. She felt exhilaration. Hope. And as Krueger laughed and gurgled, it was enough to take him off guard. Or more likely he didn't care one way or another. She seized him by the throat, then, and squeezed, strangling him with all she had as they laughed, trying to cut off his laughter, but still it kept pouring out as he choked.

Ash slammed the chainsaw through his stomach and out his back, getting in closer as he worked to keep Krueger's broken arms secured. The chainsaw spat up striped shirt and blood all over them, exposing his midsection and the dozens of screaming, suffering children and teenagers beneath. Buried away so deeply within the walking void that was Krueger that even the saw couldn't cut them free. Ash kept his arm inside and kept the teeth spinning at all costs, and reaching back he wrapped both of Krueger's broken arms around one another behind himself. At the same moment, the platform finally broke beneath them and the three of them plummeted down towards the Core, laughing madly in unison. Free arm darting out, she snared Ash around the waist and pulled him close, their laughter dying while Krueger's remained. The instant she had him... just before the flames could encompass and roll over the three of them, she flew them all up and into eternity, bursting free of the world of fire and rust and death.

* * *

They left his nightmare world, his boiler room and the Dream Core behind them, and it vanished in a blink of the eye. She flew them back out into the greater Dream World. The expanse rolled out before them in every direction, they flew beyond a million dreamers as they struggled... Krueger's gurgling mad laughter filling a good portion of the Dream World, infecting the good dreams of those they passed. She saw the Dream Demons overhead of them all, protruding from his back... their shadows and glowing eyes, ever present over Krueger. They spread their corruption as far and wide as they could, trying to take any and all with them, corrupt them, and she aimed them as far away from as many further dreamers as she could... guarding the positive dream gate, as she was meant to. Not letting them harm anyone else. Never again. One last flight. It was the end... he must have known it by now, the way he struggled and fought harder than he ever had. Ash was just barely managing to keep his healing arms behind his back, the claws down instead of jamming into her vulnerable stomach as those red eyes told her he wanted to. In her mind's eyes she saw the cavern again... she saw the Coma Pit... and she saw the Conduit. In her mind's eye, she placed the Conduit beneath her feet... and formed up the cavern around them and the Pit before them.

She didn't black out or grow dizzy this time upon reaching the cavern... she was prepared for it's magnificence. It had recognized her authority over it. The instant her feet made contact with the Conduit, and the power surged through her, blue light shining around her, through her and through her mother's necklace. She locked the six of them inside. Six... and the agonized souls screaming inside the four. While the souls of millions dreamed safely in the sealed Pit. Krueger and his masters broke loose of Ash's grip barely a moment after she slammed down the locks, pulling out of both the chainsaw blade in his midsection and the katana through his skull. The bloodied sword dropped to the ground beside the activated conduit, and the Dream Demons pulled Krueger away into the shadows of the cavern. Away from the number of white lights evenly distributed around the interior. Her Dream Hero... her demon blood soaked protector, cursed loudly enough for it to echo through the cavern. His eyes and Boomstick swept all around them from where he stood next to the Conduit, unable to find them. Then they returned back to her, chiseled jaw tightening with irritation.

"Bastard ran away before I could take his head off!"

"It's ok. The locks are secure... I sealed them before he pulled away. He's here, Ashley. He isn't going anywhere now. None of them are. Not yet. They're hiding... afraid. In the shadows."

Ash reached down and scooped up the bloody katana, inserting it in the sheath across her back again. He also found the sunglasses fallen on the ground, and took the time to slip them back inside her jacket pocket. Together their eyes looked to every shadow within the cavern. Over the great seals in the center of the Pit, above and below. None of them stirred... but they didn't have to. The shadows existed. So long as they did, they were in them. In those shadows she felt them trying to push through the ceiling and floor of the cavern... to slip back into eternity and escape. She felt the pressure against the locks, and fortified her resolve, the light of the Conduit brightening, keeping them slammed shut... defiant to their inhuman power.

"WE KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE FREDDY! I CAN FEEL YOU! THIS IS MY DOMAIN! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!"

The echo of her voice carried throughout the entire cavern. And the struggling against the locks ceased for that moment. Guttural, echoing laughter greeted her when her own echoes died away. A low rumble... his laughter, and theirs. Their malevolent chorus of three rang out to them, again. Polluting the air just by existing.

"_**You... are insignificant. For we fear nothing. Nothing. We are fear. We are legion. We feasted on many a Dream Master And Dream Hero before you. As we will the next. As we feasted on your mother and her failed protector. We can taste her still, upon the lips of the Nightmare Master."**_

Ash looked over to her at that sharply... but her eyes remained on the shadows. And for all that they were lying, she knew they weren't about the latter part. They used truth and lies equally... however they could best cause harm. She had known. Part of her had always known, maybe. Or touching the Conduit. Standing where _she_ had stood. Krueger had taken her away... as he had Rick... as he had Dan. As he wanted to Jacob and her father. Alice did not cry... for those particular tears had long ago run out. No. She was beyond tears over her own suffering, now. She was done giving the Dream Demons purpose. There was only _her_ purpose. They stood on the precipice... had come further than any other Dream Master or Dream Hero had before. They had him. They had _them_. And they knew it. No revelations could change that. It was time to set everything right again. Her blue eyes fell on Ash's brown pair, and she was resolute.

"Stay close to me, Ashley. His creations are coming. I can feel them. They are desperate, panicking... weakening just from being here, but still powerful. If they kill me the locks will release. They'll escape and devour more children... more dreamers."

"They won't get that chance. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know you won't. I believe in you."

Ash's kiss lingered on her lips still, and she tasted that instead of Krueger's foul false blood. They were both covered in it... and his shirt was increasingly tattered. Revealing more of the sweat and blood stained form. Half of her wanted to clean and patch him up, to risk refocusing some of her power off the Conduit and on him... the other half was admiring his impressive presence. He looked at her with the same passion he had in their embrace. And just now, it was enough. Or almost. Something occurred to her... either from Debbie's romantic soaps, or Sheila's knowledge of history. She beckoned him over to her side at the Conduit, and he came to her. Keeping the locks in her mind's eye, she reached up, taking off Rick's... her... headband and tying it around the exposed bicep of her champion, knotting it securely into place. The rising sun peered back at her like an eye. Now he was ready... bearing her standard into battle. Her favour. Looking down at it and back to her, he smiled, understanding her intent entirely. And why shouldn't he? A knight who had lived in such an era, briefly.

Shrieking laughter and foul, inhuman voices emerged with shapes from the shadows around the caverns. From the darkness they spilled... the Deadites, in countless different abomination forms. Forcing the two of them to look out upon them.

Among them she spotted his friends and her own, their images reshaped into monstrosity's, defiled. She saw Dan and Rick... wearing what they had in life, but twisted. Her father, Yvonne, even Jacob. Everyone Krueger had ever killed, and those he still wanted to. Men, women and children. They were just nightmare creations, they didn't perturb her, as Krueger clearly wanted. All it did was fortify her resolve. One more reason upon the endless list of reasons for doing what they now were. They shambled up ever closer to the Conduit, and Ash moved in front of her, muscled, headband bearing arm producing his Boomstick. Peering down the cobalt blue steel sights, tracking the closest ones. Revving up the chainsaw simultaneously... just the sound of that heartened her... the way he stood between her and the gathering Deadites. He rose the Boomstick up over his head and stood before the gathering monsters... stood as he had in Jacob's drawing.

"Alright listen up you rotting nightmare bastards! You want some of this? Let's go!"

She heard the screams of the demons as they began to charge towards Ash and her. With a mighty shout Ash met the closest ones with saw and leaden death. Heads and limbs flew this way and that, showers of blood and gore all over him and all over the cavern. He moved all the way around the perimeter of the conduit, leaving Alice within a clear circle outlined by twitching corpses. Now and again when one broke away from the others to try to take her from the side or back, leaping or flying through the air on hideous wings, screeching at her, a blast tore them apart and landed them back on the ground, in one piece, several or many. He was fearless, lost in the carnage, a berserker. The most powerful other dreamer she had ever met. More than she had dared to hope. The showers of blood splashed her here and there, but it no longer bothered her.

On the contrary, each one made her smile through her concentration on the locks.

This was her domain, but Ash's sort of life. If this had been happening in the real world, she knew the result would be the same as it was now. It was her life as well now, they were bound together in purpose, both of their strange worlds joined together. She felt somehow more powerful watching him fight on her behalf, than she did standing at the Conduit. Before too long her Dream Hero stood knee deep in the dead. And although he showed signs of exertion, shirt getting more tattered as he went on, he just kept going, drawing catharsis from every kill. Ripping and tearing through the perverted images of his friends, loved ones and her own without hesitation, defying Krueger. Unmaking his nightmare creations. She could feel their growing rage, frustration and pain with each passing moment. Worsening for each of the Deadites Ash slew. They tried to wear him down, but he wouldn't stop... and would fight to the bitter end. Between lulls in the fight as Ash waited for the next wave, walking among the dead, kicking aside limbs, she called over to him.

"Every creation of theirs you kill weakens him further!"

"I can do this all night long, doll! But don't you think it's time we brightened his day a little?"

"Yes... but I cannot hold open the gates forever. It will drain me, weaken me steadily. It's already an effort to hold the locks in place. It will require all of my power and most of my focus. Once I open it, you must work quickly to get them into the Pit. It will be now, or never."

"I read the fine print when I signed up. This is our only shot.", Ash assured her grimly, jaw tightening. Voice rock solid and ready as he looked back at her. "I'll get it done. Ready when you are, Dream Master."

"Weaken their ranks a little more, and then I will open it."

The two looked at one another deeply for a moment... a lull in the approaching swarms of Deadites. More than ever she wished she could be over there fighting back to back with him again... but they both had their respective duties. And it was time to fulfill hers. To do what she was always meant to... or die in the attempt. With a smile and a nod, Ash turned from her and resumed his own duties, sawing and shooting down everything that approached her or him. The deformities and power of the Deadites was worsening, they were getting stronger, more panicked and desperate like their creators. Forcing Ash to exert more of himself, but he stopped them from getting to her all the same. And finally Alice looked ahead, to the great seals atop and below the Coma Pit. Concentrating with all she had on the handle she alone could turn with her mind's eye. Slowly, she began to turn it, and the power in the Conduit surged through her, freezing her upright as stiff as a statue. She couldn't move, only breath, twist the handle more and watch what was happening about her. She felt a weight she never had before, that of every single being within the Pit, all of them for her to carry, to protect. As her mother had. Over the sawing of the chainsaw and echoing blasts of the Boomstick, something far mightier came. The great seals above and below responded, and began to part.

"NO MORE DARKNESS TO HIDE IN FREDDY! NO MORE FIRE AND SHADOWS! TIME TO FACE THE LIGHT!"

The light of the swirling abyss of souls, dreams and minds poured out into the chamber, filling it with it's brilliancy. With it's music. Every shadow within was cast out... and the hordes of Deadites screamed, burned, and blew to pieces en mass. Their control over the creations slipping. The light rolled over and incinerated all their bodies, cleaned the chamber of the impure, the false blood erased from her and Ash's form. She heard their far louder, agonized screams as the light washed over them. Somewhere overhead a particular shadow lifted, and the creature it had hid detached from the ceiling and fell unceremoniously to the cavern floor below. No longer having an innocent girl's form or soul to hide within, their resistance to the light was all but shattered. They twisted, twitched uncontrollably and writhed and mutated, the illusion of his clothing burning away... everything recognizable about Krueger all but gone, save that burnt face and clawed hand.

The three Dream Demons sprouted from his back once more, whipping about like tendrils under the light, and the burnt, throbbing muscles of Krueger's form grew and expanded as they screamed with pain. Screaming incoherently, incapable of speaking comprehensible words anymore. Krueger and his masters became giant... barely humanoid. Ash, bathed in the light of souls, went to meet the thing head on before it could rise all the way, revving and slamming his chainsaw into it's stomach while it was distracted by the pain, tearing into it and making it spew up more blood. With a wild swing of it's bulky arm it knocked Ash backwards off his feet to the side with a grunt, slamming on to the floor of the cavern. It stalked closer towards him, going in for the kill, through it's agony... considering him, and stopping all at once. All four of their hateful faces, yellow and red eyes looked forward and saw only her, then. That great maw of razor teeth spitting blood and obscenities, roaring, while the three voids for mouths on the tendrils shrieked. Through the intensity of the Conduit, she spoke to them, deathly cold.

"Come on, then. Come get the Dream Master. Just like you did to my mother, you meaningless bastards."

Without a second thought, they charged at her with an enraged roar, with everything they had left, claws flashing in the soul light. The great deformed feet pounding across the floor so hard it echoed throughout the cavern and made it shake. Death ran towards her. The Master of Nightmares, unveiled. She had never seen him more himself, than in that moment, in that form. And staring back at him as he neared the Conduit, she did not blink. Two deafening thunderclaps took them in the back, sending them crashing to the floor just before the Conduit. She watched as they struggled to rise, giant, long, gloved hand trying to claw at her, swiping out within inches of where she stood. The tendrils of the Dream Demons trying to reach over their puppet and snare her but coming up just short. She stared back into their shining, malevolent eyes benignly... as the roar of the chainsaw filled the cavern once more. Her blue knight bearing her standard, her Dream Hero, slammed his boot down on their monstrous chest and pinned him down to the cavern floor. Lowering his spinning, bloodied sword, he began to saw off the Nightmare Master's limbs, one at a time. Starting with his arms and ending with his legs.

_"That... all you got... Ashley? You... fucking kidding... me?"_

"No... but it's enough. You can keep your head. I want you to see all of this. Feel it. What _they_ felt."

The chainsaw spat up blood and gore all over Ash and Krueger, and through it all the children in Krueger's abdomen struggled excitedly to escape his burnt form, to go towards the light of the Pit. Restraining his arms from swinging up at Ash while he still had them... helping the Dream Hero as best as they could. Every time he sawed off a limb, Ash heaved it over into the Pit, finishing with Krueger's giant, bladed hand, looking between it and her. She smiled through the worsening burden of the surging power from the Conduit, and she nodded as he threw the blood soaked limb in as well. Like the others it vanished out of sight, obliterated somewhere far below in the light. The monstrosity did not heal or regrow it's limbs as it would have before. Finally he seized the Dream Demons by all three serpentine tendrils, wrapping them all tightly together under his bare arm, dragging and choking them simultaneously. A bit at a time he dragged them with everything he had, as they left behind trails of blood from Krueger's stumps. Grunting and bearing his teeth as he carried them along. The closer they got to the Pit, the further from the Conduit, the more excited the souls within them became.

_"No... this cannot be... Dream Master... we are not done... I will not die... I am eternal... I am forever... and always..."_

"Let's find out, Freddy.", Alice spoke back to him calmly as she watched her champion drag the Nightmare Master from the Conduit. From her dreams and her life. Heard pounding in her chest and in her head. "You have nothing to fear, if that is so."

Alice heard the children... their agonized screams had become a chorus of shouts of encouragement for Ash... she hoped he heard them over the noise of the chainsaw and the inhuman screams of the Dream Demons and their Nightmare Master. Felt them... and knew he wasn't alone. Finally, blood and sweat soaked, shirt all but gone, Ash stopped at the mouth of the Pit, and with a low grunt, heaved the bulk of them over the side. But the moment they fell over, the three tendrils were loosened, and one of them wrapped around his leg, pulling him down with them. Alice's heart seized in her chest as she watched Ash fall, screaming out to him... and at the last moment his left seized the edge of the Pit's seal, holding on to it for dear life. This close to the open Pit, dangling over the abyss just below, it was starting to affect Ash already, the way it was her, slowly but surely sapping him, as she was weakened at the Conduit. In her mind's eye she saw it all, saw what her human eyes didn't. One of the tendrils remained wrapped around Ash's leg, while the others crept along his back, steadily pulling up Krueger's defiant bulk. His great, bleeding maw grinning with a terrible, clinging malevolence.

_"No... Dream Hero... it's not over... yet... you die... then her... then the rest..."_

One of the tendrils snared the holstered Boomstick on the back of his leather harness and teared off the harness, threw it all into the Pit... and in response Ash aimed and slammed down the chainsaw where Krueger's heart should have been, sawing away meat and muscle and blood. Everything within Alice wanted to leave the Conduit and run to him... to draw Sheila's sonic device... but she was frozen still by the effort it took to keep the doors open. She felt frustration and fear for him... helplessness. Another tendril seized the end of the chainsaw and broke it off Ash's attachment... the gauntlet encased right stump dangled uselessly, but still the chainsaw remained lodged in Krueger and cutting into him. Aiming down, Ash looked to Krueger's gaping maw of teeth... and he aimed kick after kick against his face, breaking off teeth and snapping bone within his skull. Blow after blow Krueger struggled to resist, as the Dream Demons struggled to pull them up and over Ash and back to the top of the Pit. With all he had left, Ash aimed a mighty kick to Krueger's head... and for just a fatal instant, the tendril around Ash's leg loosened. From there the souls within Krueger's chest tugged with all they had and pulled it off him. With a great roar and a chorus of screeches the Dream Demons and Krueger fell down into the Coma Pit, tendrils flailing uselessly... and Alice was heartened once more.

"Enjoy the scenic route, asshole!"

Ash's stained, sweat streaked face watched them fall with satisfaction. But they weren't obliterated... not immediately. Not while their void contained the innocent. Full of souls that were not their own. She felt the Pit recognize them as incompatible... theirs were not the souls of the comatose. What was left of the horrifically mutilated, mutated form of the Dream Master and Dream Demons rose up, then. Pulled upwardly by the momentum of the souls within. They flew past Ash dangling over the Pit, who looked up and watched it all as well. They rose above the Pit and stopped perfectly between both of the open seals in the air. Perfectly aligned with her and the Conduit, she watched as the blue lights shone brighter and began to tear themselves free from Krueger's chest. Splitting it apart, writhing free from the burnt flesh. The souls all gathered around Krueger to watch as the others tore themselves loose to freedom, each one taking their power with them. In their death throes, the Dream Demon's looped overhead of Krueger, writhed around him, their glowing yellow eyes looking back into Krueger's agonized, bulging red pair. She heard their chanting... the voices of dozens of children and teenagers echoing through the cavern... and heard her own voice rising to lead their chorus.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, the Master of Dreams my soul will keep! In the reflection of my mind's eye, evil will see itself, and it shall die!".

Krueger screamed as the last of the souls tore loose to freedom, but his pathetic form remained suspended in the light of the Coma Pit. Just enough defiance in the form to keep lingering somewhere between life and death. She heard the children thanking her and Ash... bidding them farewell, laughing merrily and whispering to each other. She felt the tears staining her face as one after another their blue lights flew up through the open top seal. Vanishing beyond into the darkness... up towards the light and peace that lie beyond it. Where Dan and Rick dwell... where everyone dwell, and awaited for them. And... where Amanda could finally go to rest. Three lights lingered behind and she felt who they were... Georgie, Annamarie and Timothy. She heard their voices... their words, listened to them, and she smiled back at them, bidding them farewell beyond. In another flash, they were gone, flitting up through the great seal and into eternity. She looked back to the four remaining suspended, broken over the Coma Pit. Looked not to the glowing, dying light in the Dream Demons eyes... but to _his_ red eyes staring back at her.

"Goodbye, Freddy."

She watched him age to the decrepit form he'd possessed before. Shrivel up... a limbless, pathetic, bleeding wretch... a husk with three shriveled grey tendrils flailing behind him. The light in their eyes flickering and dying. Krueger didn't take his eyes off her... even as he plummeted again. Falling down into the Pit... down into the swirling abyss that recognized him as soulless. All he was without the children was material. It accepted him into the embrace of living, incinerating, purifying lights. As she watched him vanish below for the final time... his voice echoed up throughout the cavern. In a way she had never heard in him before... and never would.

Despair.

"_Alice... I need you..."_

It faded away, with the rest of him. And then he was gone. They were gone. She couldn't feel them any longer... here, or anywhere... and she almost dared to breath. To let herself feel the catharsis she needed... to grieve. But there was another far more important to her than them she could still feel, struggling at the edge of the Pit, unable to pull himself up. Someone they had tried in their last act of evil to take with them. Spent and weakened, hanging on with what little he had left. Their eyes met again... and there was acceptance in his that frightened her more than anything Krueger could have done.

"Alice... you need to close the door now! It can't be kept open! It'll kill you!"

"I can't... Ash... I can't let you go... I can't lose you too..."

"You have to! I won't fall down into that Pit with _them_... my soul will rise, like the others! This is what I was always meant to do... I know it! Find _you_... stop running. I'm not running anymore. I'm at peace, Alice... it's ok... you gave me that peace. That chance. I can go to Cheryl now, I can look her in the eyes... and know she understands..."

Alice felt the surging of the Pit intensifying, pouring throughout her... starting to pain her. Wrack her limbs. Straining to hold open the seals. But it was the sad acceptance in Ash's eyes that hurt her the most... made the despair draw closer. No... not like this. It couldn't end like this. She couldn't let him go... let him die. It wasn't over... not for him... not for them. Not yet. So much lie ahead... she knew it. She thought of his smiling face... and she thought of Jacob's. Through the growing haze, exertion and pain... she forced herself to speak to him, through her agony, tears and grief.

"She already understands. Her, Linda, Scotty and Shelly. Dan, Rick and Kristen understand too. All of them. They're somewhere... where all is understood. Where we'll go, one day. It's not your time to go there, Ash. Nor mine. You have a reason to be here... as much as me. You have us... and you have a duty. You are the Dream Hero. I am the Dream Master. This realm is ours to protect. Together. It must be together, or neither of us can. I need you. Jacob needs you. An entire world of dreamers need you to protect it. And I... will never let you go. Because I love you, Ashley."

Through the exertion and weakening, Ash looked back at her... they stared at each other... and both understood. She confessed what she hoped... was almost certain, he knew all along. He confessed it right back silently, in his gaze. The way he saw her. It was all over now. She felt her hold on the seals steadily slipping... as his fingers were from the edge. She felt an exhaustion she never had before... growing as ancient, as Krueger must have felt. Emptiness. Hopelessness. And as they watched each other one final time... a third figure emerged into existence and rose up tall beside her from the blue light of the Conduit. She forced herself to look to it, through the pain. A towering knight in blue steel plate, glinting in the light of souls, looked back at her with a nod. Then he ran from her side at the Conduit and towards the edge of the Pit, a blue shroud billowing behind him. A mighty black lion roaring on the shield draped across his back. Through the hazy vision of her mind's eyes, she watched him reach Ash... watched Ash looked up at the figure in shock, disbelief. Watched as the knight's gauntlet grasped Ash by the wrist just as he ran out of strength and let go. The blue knight effortlessly picked up Ash and removed him from the Pit, setting him down off to the side of it. And just before she let go of the Conduit, she heard Ash's voice echoing somewhere.

"You're a truer knight already... than I ever was..."

Letting go, the cavern floor rushed up to greet her as she slammed against it, falling off the ancient plate of the Conduit, the blue light fading away from her and it. She watched, paralyzed... felt... the seals of the cavern begin to close... above and below... and with them the lights and music of the souls and dreamers began to recede. Steadily returning to the cavern of white lights and shadows... and silence. Not a cold, desolate silence... but the silence of peace. As for her... she was steadily blacking out. She felt nothing anymore but vertigo, spinning... and soon not even that. Alice fell into the darkness.

"Mommy? Mommy? You need to wake up!"

Somewhere far above, there was light. Figures stirred somewhere over her face... two dark haired figures. Close and far... stretched down a long tunnel. Distorted. One small and one big. One in a pair of blue pajamas... the other a stained, torn blue shirt. A looking glass with her eye peering back at her, on a silver chain dangling close. Her favour still at his shoulder. Both of them kneeling over and watching her with equal concern, trepidation. Their hands touching her face gently, with tenderness. One of them brushing through her hair.

"Jacob? Ash... you're here. And still... soaked in blood..."

His stained, handsome face smiled as brightly as the sun. All of those rays for her. Light. She felt it in her beating heart... and felt herself smiling too. Felt his fingers touching her with such softness.

"My cleaner was passed out. Of course we're here. We're here for you. Always. You did it, Dream Master. It's over. They're gone. You did what you were always meant to do. What so many before couldn't."

"No... we did it. Both of us. Us three. I understand now, why it could never be one. That was my mistake. For so long I thought it all had to be me. My weight to carry. You were right. We have to carry this world together. It will take us... to teach the rest..."

"You were right about me. And we will teach them. In time. You need to just relax now. _We_ need you."

"I don't think... I can get us out of here... or stand..."

"Then I carry you."

Her eyes moved over to his other arm. To the handless gauntlet fastened there with straps. His eyes followed hers.. and her smile deepened a little.

"I'm so tired... weak... but... I think I can give you a hand... one more time..."

With all she could muster, she watched her hand move down towards the back pocket of her jeans. Reaching within, she withdrew the cool steel glove that had been gripping her bottom. It weighed so much more now than it had before, but with a shaky arm she rose it up to him. His smile deepened, and he couldn't repress a laugh... a beautiful sound echoing through the cavern. He took it from her gently, and snapped it back into place, reconnecting it with the gauntlet... the hand whirring as he flexed the fingers. Once he had, he reached down under her, and she felt herself being lifted up through the air. With what little she had left, she clung to him for dear life, wrapping her arms around his neck as he stood tall with her, standing closely beside Jacob. Before the Conduit. He turned her, his back to the sealed Pit where the souls slumbered peacefully. Looking back into her eyes deeply, she looked right back, her head against his shoulder.

"It's ok. I'm going to take you home now, Alice. You and Jacob. We'll go there together. But we have one more stop to make first."

"How? Where?"

"To the front door, doll. Remember?"

With another bright smile, his metal hand lowered while the other arm held her up effortlessly. He reached down to Jacob, and the smiling, happy boy took him by the gauntlet. Slowly, Ash's eyes rose up... and that was where he flew them. Up into eternity, and what lie beyond it. Submerging them back into the sea of dreams, leaving the Pit below to rest. Until the time they were needed down there again. All of it spread out around the three of them... and Jacob was laughing with wonder as Ash steered them through the Dream World. Past many millions of languid dreams, both living and long gone. She experienced the magnificence of it all as a passenger for the first time, her arms around him tightening, feeling his respond in kind. And soon she was laughing too... all the life and energy returned to her. More than there had been. A feeling of wholeness she'd never felt. All of her, all the hers inside were content. Gleeful. Safe. There was a particular direction he flew them to, with purpose... his handsome face smiling back at her in the starlight. He knew what he was doing now, and he knew where he was going... and there was no fear or doubt. No more running away. Flying to, instead.

Into a light. A warm light that encompassed them. The same way his arms were.

* * *

"Welcome back, Dream Weaver."

Music greeted her in that light... a steady, familiar sound. Elton John sang about a girl with blue eyes... and she felt her feet on the floor, moving back and forth in an embrace. Two hands on either side of her waist... her arms still wrapped around a neck. Looking up, she saw that it was still his. He smiled down at her... and it all came back. His blue shirt, his normal hands... her white uniform. The diner during the afternoon had formed back around them protectively, sunlight streaming in through the windows. Cars and pedestrians passed by on the downtown Springwood roads outside, the Delta parked at the curb. They moved together before the jukebox, in slow time with it's tune. The Crave Inn was empty... all but the two of them... and Jacob, sitting up in his seat at the counter, watching them with his bright eyed smile. She looked from her son, and back up to the man's handsome, clean face, and her lips parted.

"How did you...-

"It wasn't hard to find. Not with the right guide."

Ash smiled back at her, and she felt her lips doing the same. Peering into one another's eyes. Together they swayed intimately... and she held him closer, pressing her face to his chest and breathing in his scent... closing her eyes. Listening to the music... and to him. Feeling his heartbeat. His strength. Daring to believe this was real. It must have been. No dream had been quite like it.

"I was wrong, Alice... about my safe place. The workshed."

"What do you mean?"

"That wasn't it. That was just my means of survival. An armory. Nothing more. It was only safe for me then because you were in it with me. _This_ is my safe place... here, with you and Jacob. With the memory of the lost... and the living."

Figures began to form all around the diner. Alice looked past him and to them... Jacob did as well from up at his seat. All of them... alive and whole again. As she and Ash had known them best. Dan was standing next to Linda, both of them smiling as they watched the dance. Rick was with Cheryl and Kristen on either side of him, his arms around them both. Scotty and Shelly with Debbie and Sheila, Mark and Greta, Kincaid and Joey. And as she looked among them, she formed more of them... including those she had only read or heard about, seen their pictures... but had never gotten to know. Jesse and Lisa hand in hand... Nancy and her father. And she saw her mother again, standing just behind Rick... proud, as Amanda had said. And... Amanda, right there next to her, and the light she brought with her. Everyone that had been lost, laying her path. Their path. Made it all possible. Sacrificed so much. They would honor them now... as best as they could. She looked among their peaceful, contented faces... and smiled right back at them. Whether they were dream creations, or it was really them... it did not matter. They would always be with them. She breathed silently, slowly resting her head against his shoulder again as they swayed. Losing herself in that moment, for as long as she possibly could.

"Am I really dreaming?"

"Yes. The song is almost over. And you have to wake up now... Alice."

"I don't wanna go. I wanna stay here... with you and Jacob. This dream... is the most beautiful I've ever had..."

"When you wake... it will be as beautiful. And it will be true. When you do... I'll be there. I promise. I'll always be there. _Here_ or _there_. With _you_, Alice. _Our_ song's only getting started, 80's girl."

His smooth voice was equal parts amused, and genuine. On instinct, Alice slowly drew her head from his shoulder, and one of his hands left her waist. It touched her chin tenderly, rising her gaze to meet his own again. And he kissed her. Slowly and softly. Full of warmth, tenderness. Passion. Life. Love. Everything that made the world go round. The rest of the world around them dimmed as she returned it just as much. Flickered. Along with the music of the jukebox. The diner closing until such a time as they would return there together. Their safe place. Now and always.

And the light took the three of them once more.

* * *

Alice's eyes opened on their own... peering straight ahead, and gazing about the bedroom, illuminated in the morning light streaming through the windows. When she rose to her feet, both her father and Yvonne all but jumped from where they stood over the bed, and she back looked back at them for a moment. Without saying a word, she looked to find Jacob already awoken and had climbed off his chair and was down at Ash's side, holding his immobile gauntlet. The chained, sweat soaked man remained exactly as he had been when she had fallen asleep. Secured tightly, and his eyes shut tight. Stepping away from the chair, sweat soaked and clad in her makeshift costume once more, she immediately moved over to the bed and sat on it at his side, leaning down over him. His shirt was tattered the way it had been in the Dream World... his bicep exposed... with her headband tied around it. Her favour. Her wrapped hands touched her champion's bruised, bandaged face, rubbed his sweat soaked head, trying to get a response out of him.

"Ashley... wake up. It's over. We did it. Ashley... you need to wake up now. We need you..."

Looking to his head... she saw something there, hidden at the side of his head. A streak of white running through his dark hair. Where it had always been. Again she tried to wake him... but nothing came. No sounds but his faint breaths. She shook him, and again there was nothing more. Leaning down she wrapped her arms around his chained form and held him, burrowing her face close to his chest. Against the glinting looking glass necklace, her mother's own pressing into him. Trying to steady herself, her pulse quickening with dread and sorrow. She felt the steady, strong heartbeat. He couldn't be comatose. Not after all of it. Krueger could not have taken him... taken his mind or body or soul. He hadn't fallen into the Pit... Jacob had freed him. Had he got lost on the way back? He'd never flown on his own before... what if he had-

"Believe it or not... this isn't the first time I woke chained to a girl's bed... with her father holding a shotgun..."

Her eyes snapped back down around to him. His eyes remained shut... but within moments, she caught him peeking through the lids. A warmth filled her as he smiled at being found out, and his eyes opened entirely. In that moment he was the young man who had first went to the cabin again... the one she had seen in his memories. The man he had been. But he was something more now as well. Looking more totally content than she had ever seen a man. The Dream Hero... in life as he was in the world beyond. Both Yvonne and her father breathed with sudden relief behind her, while Jacob remained close, still holding his metal fingers with a happy expression. Ash's gaze was fond, and knowing.

"Are we good, Alice?"

Alice looked back down at that cheeky grin for a long moment... both exasperated and overwhelmed. And made her decision at once. In front of them all, she leaned back down and kissed him, slowly and lovingly. As it had been both times before, in the Dream World. Losing herself with him, forming a world of their own, right there. Holding him tight. Feeling his warmth and tenderness returned to her in full and then some. Eventually, their lips parted, foreheads and noses touching against one another intimately. Murmuring to him.

"Now we are, Ashley."

"Good. And don't worry about it, Red. S-Mart has a good brand for that."

She followed his slight nod and his eyes, to her hair, slowly reaching up to it. She pulled down a bit of her hair strands to find them as white as the streak running through his. He looked at her as though it were of no account... and she looked back to him. It didn't matter. It was just one more thing they shared, now. Experience. A memory. Ash turned his eyes slowly down to his other side of the bed, smile growing as he looked down at the boy holding his gauntlet.

"And there's my little giant knight. Thank you. God... I turned out to be such a damsel in distress."

"You're welcome. Welcome back Sir Ash."

"Nowhere I'd rather be. Hello Yvonne. Dennis. Hope we didn't give you any scares. Got your girl home, at least. We miss anything exciting?"

Yvonne and her father all but collapsed into the nearby chairs with exasperated noises. Deflating visibly... but relief taking over, recovering from their own ordeal. All of them remained that way for quite some time, coming down from the night and morning. Recollecting themselves. She rose and went to her father and Yvonne and Jacob, hugging them and speaking with them, reassuring them, before returning back to Ash's side at the bed. When she did one of her bandaged hands went down to his bandaged one, their bare fingers intertwining once more, as Jacob did the same of his gauntlet. Eventually, Ash's steady, relaxed voice broke over the silence, one more.

"What time is it?"

"Sunday morning", Her father's tired voice answered behind her. "7:23 AM."

Ash's expression grew quite thoughtful at that. Visibly chewing something over... before coming to a decision with it. Finally, he smiled up at them all, nodding.

"Good. Depending on when we get these chains off, I have over a half hour to shower, eat, and make my conference. Yvonne? If you lost the key, you better hope I left my bolt cutters in the Delta."

"Man, you probably have the _kitchen sink_ in there somewhere."

"Fair enough."

"You're _still_ going?", Alice murmured to his wryly smiling face, unbelieving. Fingers stroking his cheek and sweat streaked hair. Remaining close to his bound form protectively. "After _everything_ that just happened?"

"Of course, doll. I'm all rested up. I have a speech to give. And a guy to see about a job."


	10. Epilogue: The Dream Trinity

"No need to be worried. They're coming along nicely, Mr Williams."

"Of course they are. I do damn good work, pretty lady. As you well know."

"Shhh. Children are present."

"They have to learn the birds and the bees eventually. Hopefully not the way I did."

As they walked away from the parked Delta and along the forever tranquil Springwood Park, his strong, gentle hands continued rubbing her abdomen through the white dress, shifting her mother's necklace a bit. Her own hand settled softly on top of his. She felt that warmth inside that had nothing to do with the summer sun. Lowering Rick's round sunglasses, she looked back up at his stolen pair with a wry smirk.

"They've been kicking up a storm at night. They'll be quite the handful."

"Got some fight in them, at least. What do you think, Sir Jacob? Two more knights to train for the Dream Realm?

"Yes, Sir Ash. I'll have to make a round table."

"I'm sure the Crave Inn has one in the back. Or just pull a couple tables together."

Ash rubbed the boy atop the head, messing up his black hair but making him laugh. His arm wrapped around her waist again as they continued along, down towards the distant fountain she knew so well. How many times had she come here? On her own, or with the others? Passing others along the way. Before long, Ash's thoughtful voice spoke up to her again, bringing her back from her reverie.

"So, I was thinking about the boy's name... and bear with me here. Timothy Rick Williams. Not nearly as cruel as my old man was to me."

"The least we can do for him. A good name... as long as we can call the girl Annamarie Cheryl Williams."

"You might be able to twist my arm."

"Though you better be careful, or Anne will think you named her after her."

"Perish the thought."

"And they _do_ have a nice ring to them."

"Almost as nice as yours."

"You didn't have to, I told you. Just an excuse to flaunt that managerial title a little more, huh?"

"Nothing but the best for the King."

"Which of us would be this King again? We talking the Dream World or real one?"

"Laugh it up, doll."

Gradually reaching the end of the particular path, they stopped before the Springwood Park fountain, and she looked it over. All the memories returning. The memories of the park. Of all the lives she had lived up to this point. Going over to the edge of it, she sat down there, while Ash and Jacob remained where they were, watching her. She ran her fingertips along the surface of the water, watching the ripples. Gradually, they settled again, and she looked back at her own happy expression. Contented. Her reflection... the white streak running through the sunlit fiery hair. Another reminder she had kept. She knew the importance of those, now. Fond memories, bittersweet ones and bad ones alike. She looked down to all the coins lying below at the bottom... and wondered if Dan's was still there among them.

"I used to come here to this fountain with Dan, you know. We liked to make wishes here. To wonder what the future brought. Seems so long ago, now. Another life."

"Did you want to make another, Alice?"

Alice looked up from the water at last, to find him digging into his jean pockets for some change, producing a coin. She looked at him standing before her, handsome, in his blue shirt, the looking glass necklace... the way he looked at her. She looked at Jacob in his own blue shirt smiling at her with her own eyes. She looked beyond them to all the children playing with one another around the park, laughing on swing sets and playground equipment. Girls playing jump rope and giggling together. Teenagers walking or bicycling and skateboarding along the paths of the park. Couples with their arms wrapped around one another... carefree and happy. And then she looked over to the green grass, not far from the fountain where they sat waiting under the shade of a tree. Her father and Yvonne had already set up the blanket and picnic basket, and Mr and Mrs Jordan were helping them spread out the food. She saw them all look their way, and Yvonne waved, her father beckoning. Alice waved and smiled back at the four of them, and she looked down to her abdomen, where their Dream Children grew... where they dreamed peacefully. Alice gazed back up from Jacob to Ash, shaking her head.

"I already got it, Ashley."

Nodding, expression as satisfied as hers, Ash tucked away the coin in his pocket instead. He took her hand into his, helping her back up to her feet. She went to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, and felt his around her shoulders. With her other hand she took Jacob's gently, fingers intertwining... and together the three of them went to join the others awaiting them.

* * *

_**In Conclusion: **_

**Well that was something. I wrote this story within a span of weeks, and forced myself to have an outline and path to follow strictly. Always begin with the end of your story in mind. Yet the tale also grew in the telling, as it always does. Expanded in my head and became quite vivid for me, more than stories often do. I guess it was just all jumbled around in there and needed out. I was inspired to do this story when I saw Lisa Wilcox on an old show, and I remembered her from the Nightmare movies I hadn't seen in a long time. I went back to watch all the Nightmare movies again, dissecting them, and came to the conclusion that Alice's story wasn't finished. That Freddy didn't get a sendoff that satisfied me. As for the Ash/Evil Dead part of it, that came in naturally, I realized how well the two universes could work together, not to mention how much I loved both lead characters and wanted them to meet up, explore that. Ash is Ash, and the man makes everything better. I really looked forward to writing in the Dream World, where you can really do anything. I think that's one of the concepts that makes Nightmare so great, imagination being as important as it is. **

**I have included some notes in closing that might explain some of the method to my madness better.**

_**Structure:** _

I decided early on that I needed, apart from the prologue, an alternating two character POV. Both had to be strong characters I loved and could really access, different and similar. The fun of one POV at a time is you can alternate between seeing the characters from the outside and inside. See how they perceive the other, and write things the reader must infer on their own. A Song Of Ice And Fire taught me that with Davos Seasworth, and the greatest character of that series Stannis Baratheon. We never get inside his head, but through the eyes of such a strong character as Davos we are able to glean a complete picture of the man, and what makes him so great. Alice and Ash I found complimented each other perfectly for my purposes, and I had a blast writing them both. Though certainly this was more Alice's story, Ash was vital to bringing it to fruition. I needed a path to the 9th chapter, a proper setup to the ending for it to work, and I had plenty to work with for that.

_**Characters:**_

**Alice Lisa Johnson/The Dream Master: **Alice, what a gem of a character, played to perfection by Lisa Wilcox. My favorite 'Final Girl' of the Nightmare movies, and probably all horror movies. There was never any doubt who I would make the protagonist/driving force of this work. For Alice I sat down and wondered about how she would be five to six years after her horrific experiences in 4 and 5. Despite the upbeat note at the ending of 5, that much trauma will seriously mess someone up long term. Her brother and most of her close friends were murdered, many of them in front of her, and she watched the man she loved and father of her son murdered as well. This is some serious shit that doesn't just vanish over night.

I also looked at the theme of her absorbing the personalities of some of her friends, and explored that further. Only 24, but older than any 24 year old could be. With more than one mind in her head basically. I took all the personalities into account along the way. The Dark Knight Returns comics by Frank Miller were a partial inspiration for me with her being an older retired Dream Master, but being brought back to pick up the mantle when she realizes how much she is needed. In her absence things have gotten much worse, and teenagers are running amok in the Dream World because she wasn't there to set down guidelines and teach them. And teenagers can be quite cruel, now imagine them getting Dream Powers and a realm without any order.

Alice never struck me as a leader type, like Nancy was, and I wanted to explore the drawbacks of that. An introvert being forced into the role best suited for an extrovert. Yes she has the more outgoing personality of Debbie and Rick in her as well, but Alice overall is a Dreamer, an introvert, just not so shy as she was in 4, obviously. After 5 I saw the Dreamer aspect of her returning when she is finally given peaceful time away from Krueger. She embraces the sweet warmth and comfort of dreams after her traumas to cope, but in so doing cut herself off from the rest of the Dream World mostly, along with her being a young mother and not having time for such Dream Master duties.

In her absence a legend grew about her among the teenagers, making her bigger than she was. What she needed was a figurative kick in the ass to get her going again, in the form of Annamaria/Timothy, Amanda and Ash. To remind her of who she is and her duties, all these reminders in different ways. Alice is someone with great potential in her, to be the best, but it has to come out through trial by fire. One last battle with Freddy, and the greater scope villains of the Dream Demons, was needed to truly make her The Dream Master now and forever. As well as to fix what was wrong with her real life problems. I also expanded a little on her mother, and really got more into the concept of the Dream Master. How had her mother known of such a rhyme and taught it to Alice? There was potential there I never planned on going in, but a tale grows in the telling.

Alice never asked for or chose to become the Dream Master, nobody taught her how it works, every aspect of it. Thanks to Krueger killing her mother, the prior Dream Master, and Kristen who empowered her in death. Alice had to learn on her own. Greatness being thrust upon a person, especially someone like Alice, greatly appealed to me. It opened the flaw of her not knowing well how to teach others, and the consequences of that for the greater Dream World. Ash's role as the titular Dream Hero to me was the solution to the Dream Master's own problems. People need each other. Imagine the loneliness of a mantle like the Dream Master, being looked up to and depended on by so many. It's the old "A King has no friends. Only subjects and enemies' quote. It's lonely at the top.

That's where the Dream Hero comes in, in the scheme of things.

**Ashley Joanna Williams/The Dream Hero:** This badass idiot, also played to perfection, by the legendary Bruce Campbell. Where to begin? I needed the outsider to come into Alice's life and help get the ball rolling, a deuteragonist. A strong POV core between the two. Someone for her to try her hand at teaching... someone who is a blustering, egotistical, handsome, badass, idiot with a rugged manly looks and big chin. Someone like Ash. I was always looking for an excuse to write him, he is my favorite character in horror history, and this story was my chance. But I found he was best served in a more strong, important supporting role. Like Alice I asked myself how would Ash be 12 years removed from the events of the Evil Dead trilogy? He wouldn't quite be the old fool we see in _Ash vs Evil Dead_, he would be somewhere in between.

Of course he needed his_ Army Of Darkness_ personality on the surface, the one we all know and love, but I balanced it out with the young man we see in _The Evil Dead_. Ash is a geek, a nerd, a sweet, good guy who hides it under his pompous braggart ego personality and sarcasm. Like Alice he has a great deal of pain inside him, he is understandably messed up by his experiences, and has to cope with it somehow. In a way they both chose dreams as their escape, illusions. Hers were literal dreams and memories of the better past, his illusions were that he's so cool and awesome and manly and gets laid a lot. Both of them trying to escape the pain in their own way. Both of them needed to confront their flaws, and they did so together very well.

Ash and Alice needed each other, to balance one another out big time. She needed someone strong, brave and good, someone who could make her feel safe (someone weird and sexy too of course) he needed someone gentle, wise, understanding, and of course will put up with his problems, his mess of a world, care about him. (Also a sexy redhead with an attitude in her back pocket and just as traumatized backstory never hurts). Both of them having such traumatic pasts was the perfect opportunity to them to work together becoming better people, growing, mending their problems. They both needed to stop running away from their pasts, and come to terms with it. Together, they accomplished that... with some good old fashioned Demon Slaying. Alice was able to show Ash that there was another entire world out there, Ash showed her there was one right in the Real World that she didn't know about. The Dreamer and The Cynic.

I made the 'Badass Ash' we know and love the sort of '11th Hour Ranger' who arrives at the end to help save the day. (And I may have added a bit of the Doom Guy/Slayer to him, couldn't help myself) I wanted to break down Ash as a character first, reduce him to a low point and be totally out of his depth in Springwood. In the Dream World. But when push comes to shove and Ash is needed most? He will _always_ rise to the occasion and be the hero he is meant to be. As it is in all his movies. Above all Ash is a good man, the greatest horror icon of all time, and ironically the only hero among the horror icons. He just needs someone to give him a cause, and show him his potential, help carry his pain, and in turn he can help carry theirs. Alice and Jacob showed that to him. And he earned his happy ending along with them. The Dream World couldn't be in better hands than the three of them.

And of course I needed Alice and Ash to have an epic 80's gearing the fuck up montage together, given the ones in their respective movies. That was only most of my inspiration for writing this story. And stealing Jesse Walsh's sunglasses for his inferior, but hilarious, montage.

**Jacob Daniel Johnson/The Dream Child:** Writing a child is never easy, so I didn't bother giving him a POV chapter. But he was integral to the story, characters, and the Alice/Ash dynamic, the Dream Trinity dynamic. He balances the two out well because they both care about him. He brings out the Fatherly/Cool Uncle type personality from Ash that we get to see. Jacob lost his father, and that will impact a child seriously, especially one who never knew him. He needed a strong masculine figure like Ash to grow more as well, to guide him. The aspect of the Knight was right there in Ash and worked perfectly with the imagination of a child, who would look up to such a thing and elevate it. Jacob realizing there is truth to the fairy tales, even if it takes the form of Ash. And it was fun showing his imagination in the Dream World, how Ash impacted him. I left him out of most of the final act for obvious reasons, Alice wanting to protect him and Alice and Ash going on a rampage a child shouldn't see. But I gave him the important roles of leading his mother to Amanda, and delivering the message about the Dream Hero, a messenger, and I needed to have him swoop in to save the day in his own way, and he does that by protecting the Dream World and saving the Dream Trinity, by saving Ash, and his mother by extension. Kid will make a hell of a Dream Knight/Warrior/Master one day.

**Fredrick Charles Krueger/The Springwood Slasher/The Nightmare Master:** Ah Freddy, nobody could ever possibly play him like Robert Englund. While I was more of a lover of the silent masked killer types when I was younger, Jason and Michael especially, as I got older I liked the intelligent ones more. Pinhead and of course Freddy. I have a new found appreciation for Freddy as I rewatch all his movies. I sought to take the best aspects of Freddy over the years for my portrayal of him. His scariness and general look of 1 and 2 (along with my own additions), the demonic possession aspect of 2 (works well with Ash/Evil Dead), a bit of his black humor from 3, his cunning/arrogance in 4 and 5, his sadism in 5, his megalomania and ambition from Freddy's Dead (along with the "I killed your mother" aspect), his foulness from Wes Craven's original Elm Street 3 script, and some of Peter Jackson's unused script depicting an old decrepit Freddy none of the kids take seriously. I even got him in a long black coat for a bit, ala New Nightmare.

Basically this story was a new Freddy's Dead and Old Man Krueger movie. He needed one last hurrah. A death worthy of such a great character this time, instead of a stick of dynamite to the gut. It was only fitting to have Alice take Krueger apart a bit at a time, it's why I added her melting down the furnace and her and Ash killing Krueger's fathers. And the glove going bye bye, of course. I originally thought about having an epilogue with him alive, as per most of the movies, but thought better of it. The story needed finality, to respect all the characters, including him. I wanted to explore the concept of the Dream Demons through Freddy as well, one of the more interesting aspects of Freddy's Dead. During the time before the Elm Street movies I liked the idea that once empowered he served them in the Dream World, killed the then Dream Master and Dream Hero of the time, Alice's mother and whoever her protector was. Before Alice's mother could pass it on to her daughter, and paving the way clear for Krueger to begin killing the Elm Street children. Of course his evil actions led to creating another Dream Master anyways, and in poetic justice it was the very daughter of the one he killed.

I realized early on I could only do one chapter of Freddy from his POV, and wanted it to be his old decrepit form and rejuvenation. Freddy above all else should be seen from the outside for the most part, the enemy, the interloper of your dreams. Frightening. Getting inside one's head tends to humanize them a fair bit, and while I did want to add some more layers in the prologue, and to help get the ball rolling, the dark place he ended up in after 5. I prefer him being perceived from the outside. To keep his mystique. I also wanted to explore, for how evil, cunning and scary Freddy is... he is pathetic. He is a coward who preys on weaker people... and like all evil people creates his own enemies and hands them the weapons to defeat him. He underestimates everyone. It's his fatal flaw and something he can never learn from, because he is a monster. It was only fitting this would be the reason for his final demise. So when his games and manipulations stop working, it's Alice and Ash who are hunting him down in his own boiler room world and dragging him out screaming with absurd laughter.

I wanted to explore the Alice/Freddy dynamic more as well, how important she is to a wretch like him. Hate and love are two sides of the same coin: passion. So while Ash and Alice have love, Freddy and Alice have hate. Freddy hates Alice more than anything in the world, that was never more evident than in 5, the sheer sadism he inflicted on her boyfriend and friends... and I wanted to continue it. She was his good counterpart, and he played a big role in making her that way. I think that while Nancy gets the status of Krueger's original nemesis, overall Alice is his true one. And in my opinion the best. They have played huge roles in each other's lives. That is important. And it was only fitting they have that cathartic moment of laughing madly together at the absurdity of the entire situation while she is finally killing him. It was the end and they both knew it. And it was fitting his last words be of her, and the last thing he sees.

Apart from his own evil, of course. Himself, him and the Dream Demons being one.

**Yvonne Miller:** Loved her as a supporting character in 5, going from an unbeliever to a believer, and having Alice's back the rest of the way. If not for her actions in that film Freddy would have won. I could see her still being very much part of Alice's life, fire forged friends who went through a terrible experience. And being protective of her and Jacob, with her strong personality. I was very glad the writers spared her in _Dream Child_. I liked the potential conflict and bickering with a man like Ash showing up, and played on it. Ultimately they came to a mutual respect, and that's where I wanted it to go.

**Dennis Johnson:** This poor guy. Not the least of it being losing his son and finding out about all this Dream World and Dream Master shit. But imagine having Ash as your daughter's boyfriend (and future husband). I liked the character in 4 and 5, that he went through an actual arc and became a better, more supporting father instead of a bigger asshole. It was a positivity you don't see in many movies, especially horror ones where all the parents and adults are just the worst. I had to bring him back for a role, protecting his daughter and grandson... and I honestly couldn't pass up the opportunity of him meeting a loon like Ash. Though ultimately it's pretty clear the insane levels Ash was willing to go to protect them from himself earned him some begrudging respect points with Mr Johnson.

**Annamarie and Timothy The Chronicler**: What happens when a hero tries to carry a burden they aren't destined/meant for. They tried to do the Dream Master's job while she was gone, basically worshiped her, but they broke under the burden. Think Boromir with Aragorn in _Lord Of The Rings_. That isn't to say they were not heroes or were failures, if not for their actions and groundwork laid down Alice and the others would have failed. They saved the worlds every bit as much as Alice and Ash did. Their lives and actions had meaning. They just did it mostly off screen. They were my in for the impact of Alice's absence, and the legend built up around her. Would they make a good story, what they went through and built together? I think so. My goal was always Alice and Ash as the driving force, but I needed more layers to show they weren't the only heroes in this setting. And they counterbalance the nihilism of the delinquent Dream Police who abused their dream powers for cruelty and selfishness.

**Doctor Neil Gordon:** I needed a way to get him in there for a bit, to have a role. Never liked the way he dropped out of existence after _Dream Warriors_, given his important role in it. It also helped show Alice investigated around after _Dream Child_, which I think she did for a brief time until she gradually came to believe Freddy wasn't coming back. Hoped. Then fell back into her comforting dreams and shed her active role as Dream Master. I also wanted to show her exploring options, seeking Hypnocil to protect her vulnerable loved ones, and raising the question of whether everyone should just take it or not, like in _Freddy Vs Jason_. Ultimately, Alice knows it isn't a long term solution. In a way it means Krueger wins if everyone has to take it. Nobody will be able to dream anymore, out of fear of him. That is not supposed to be the goal of the Dream Master. Everyone is entitled to their dreams.

**Sister Mary Helena/Amanda Krueger:** The perfect way to tie all these characters together. And the representative of a higher power still... the bringer of hope when all seems lost. Giving Alice the chance to confront her failures and overcome them. And in turn was fully freed by Alice when she destroyed Freddy and the Dream Demons. I always had a one scene planned for her, a more indirect role against Freddy this time, like 3, as opposed to 5. I like the idea of her as an overarching force of good, a presence, like her son is an evil one. Also her religious presence really helps tie Ash into it, with him being the Promised One already in the problem with the Deadites.

**The Dream Demons:** One of the better ideas of _Freddy's Dead_. To show there is something more to Freddy, a bigger evil picture, fill out his back story more, and the source of his powers. His 'friends on the other side' if you will. I was inspired by _The Darkness_ video games and comics for writing The Dream Demons. I made them the Evil Trinity to match the Dream Master's Good Trinity. Admittedly they were much more straightforward than most characters, but there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes evil is just evil. And what they had planned would have succeeded if not for Alice, Ash, Jacob, Annamarie, Timothy and Amanda. They came close to realizing their vision. Thankfully they are obliterated. Are there other Dream Demons out there doing what they did? Of course. Evil will always exist like good, in the Dream World and Real World. Nightmares exist like dreams do, and there will be another Nightmare Master one day. There's a reason the Dream Master/Hero are needed. But these Dream Demons were the worst of them. Good riddance.

**And so that's it. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. I may come back to this one for awhile and keep editing it a bit. I'm something of a hindsight writer sometimes unfortunately where I'll think of something that works and go back and have to add it. Thankfully the way this site is set up makes that easier to do. **

**Thanks again!**


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